


your hand in mine (feels so good)

by hpwlwbb, inamamagic, narrowredoubt, RunSquidling



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU: No Second War, AU: Voldermort was defeated in 1981, Accidental Kissing, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Auror Ginny Weasley, Auror Investigations, Background Activism, Background Angelina/Fred, Background Hermione/Ron, Background Tonks/Fleur, Brief mention of Remus/Sirius, Butch Ginny Weasley, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Fred Weasley Lives, Journalist Romilda Vane, Magical Researcher Luna Lovegood, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Past Ginny/OFC, Past Ginny/Romilda Vane, Past Luna/OFC, Sex Club, Strap-Ons, Toxic Ex-Girlfriend, Undercover, political corruption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:14:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 81,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24540631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hpwlwbb/pseuds/hpwlwbb, https://archiveofourown.org/users/inamamagic/pseuds/inamamagic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/narrowredoubt/pseuds/narrowredoubt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunSquidling/pseuds/RunSquidling
Summary: AU: No Second WarAfter a disgraceful exit from the Holyhead Harpies two years prior, Ginny Weasley is settling into her new career as an Auror, but a new mission has her questioning everything she’s repressed since leaving the team. Luna Lovegood is responsible for creating an antidote for blood maledictions, but when she gets attacked, Ginny is assigned to guard her round the clock. Though they were old friends at Hogwarts, they haven’t seen each other or spoken in four years, and their once strong friendship is strained.Ginny has her reasons for mistrusting Luna. The distance brought on by Ginny’s Quidditch career and Luna’s global travels was enough to drive a wedge, but Luna’s sale of her cure to the Burdock Corporation caused a deep crack. With personal experience driving her resentment, Ginny doesn’t understand why Luna would make her cure inaccessible for people who’d need it, but she can’t help but wonder if there’s more to the story than it seems.Stuck in the safehouse together, old feelings begin to resurface, even without answers to all of Ginny's questions. Soon enough, keeping a level head to focus on her assignment grows more difficult than she anticipated.
Relationships: Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 166
Kudos: 75
Collections: HP WLW BB 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Author’s notes (inamamagic):**  
>  This is long, please bear with me. But first, I want to say that if you're coming to this story from outside the hpwlwbb community, please consider leaving the artists a comment on the chapters that their work is featured on! They've worked immensely hard on it and their work is really spectacular, so please show them some love!
> 
> I owe an indescribable debt of gratitude to the mods, [violet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetclarity) and [frnkly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frnklymrshnkly/pseuds/frnklymrshnkly), for putting this fest together. Last year’s HPWLWBB started posting at a time when I was bed-ridden, and this year’s BB is one of the main things that’s kept me on my feet. My gratitude to you runs very deep. Thank you for re-igniting my sense of hope.
> 
> Huge thanks also to the amazing artists that collaborated on this story, [showknight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Showknight), [runsquidling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/runsquidling), and [narrowredoubt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narrowredoubt). Thank you for your enthusiasm about this story and producing such beautiful pieces. It was a privilege to be able to collaborate with you and to have your amazing work standing alongside this fic. 
> 
> Thank you to the HPWLWBB discord, for all the support and fun, and to everyone I ran sprints with - they were instrumental in getting the words out, and it felt so much better to have some company. I’m looking forward to getting to read all your awesome work. 
> 
> Finally, a big shout out to the three people who stopped this fic from becoming an unmitigated disaster. 
> 
> To [Satan_i](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satan_i), for all the sweltering, pre-lockdown afternoons at [redacted], and for enduring those horrible chairs with me. This story owes its all of its structural integrity to you. Thank you for untangling the knots with me, for taking chapter four from mess to yes, and for the last-minute emergency read-through. This story would make ZERO sense without you. Thanks for always being my creative partner. 
> 
> To [chaseandcatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaseandcatch), for jumping in to beta read for me, running copy edits, and offering a much-needed objective gaze. This story owes a lot of its clarity and cohesion to you. Thank you so much for doing all you did in such little time. I’m so very grateful <3 
> 
> To R, my dearest one. Thank you for looking over the sexy bits, and for helping me keep things in perspective. Sayang you very much. 
> 
> \----
> 
>  **Artist:**[RunSquidling](https://runsquidling.tumblr.com/) (tumblr)   
> **Medium:** Dip pen with acrylic ink, Copic liner pen, and watercolor on 140lb hot press paper  
>  **Notes:** Thank you so much to the mods for putting this all together and Inamamagic for the great story! :heart:
> 
>  **Artist:**[narrowredoubt](https://narrowredoubt.tumblr.com) (tumblr)   
> **Medium:** Digital.  
>  **Notes:** I’m so happy I had the opportunity to collaborate on such an excellent work! Shout out to the mods who made this all possible :)!
> 
>  **Artist:**[showknight](https://showknight.tumblr.com) (tumblr)   
> **Medium:** a mix of traditional and digital art.  
>  **Notes:** N/A

_ Three years ago _ ****

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Morning Edition_

**_UNIVERSAL ANTIDOTE TO BLOOD MALEDICTION DISCOVERED: HEALERS AND FAMILIES REJOICE_ **

_After an eagerly anticipated set of trials, a universal antidote for blood maledictions has finally been proven successful. Formulated by British witch Luna Lovegood, the antidote is the first of its kind and has been hailed a magical triumph after vigorous testing across the world, from Seychelles, to Nepal, and now in Britain._

_Run over the course of five weeks, the British trials are the first with a complete success rate. Samples have been sent to Healing facilities in France, Germany, and Belgium for further experimentation._

_Jubilant St. Mungo’s representatives, some of whom were still blowing confetti out of their wands at the time of the interview, noted that a universal cure for blood maledictions have never been thought possible._

_“Every hex, every jinx, every curse has its own counter spell,” Healer Augustus Pye explained. “Every poison has its own antidote. There has never been a universal counter to any of these things. Blood maledictions are much stronger than your average curse and their effects can intensify over centuries. They’ve been impossible to heal because we don’t understand the origins of some of the curses - most of them are just so bloody old! This is unprecedented.”_

_Taking a moment to breathe through his red-faced excitement, Healer Pye also cautioned against too much hope, or even calling the antidote a ‘cure’._

_“While our trials right now have gone very well, there is no telling what the long-term effects could be. The curses could return. This may just be a way of holding it off temporarily. We must understand that this is just the beginning - this antidote might not cure every malediction, especially the oldest and darkest ones, but it’s still a miraculous discovery.”_

_Luna Lovegood was unavailable for comment._

* * *

_ Two years ago _

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Evening Edition_

**_WEASLEY’S WOEFUL WIND UP:_ **

**_HARPIES OUT OF LEAGUE CUP QUALIFIERS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES_ **

**_By Quidditch Correspondent: Sophie Lennie_ **

_It has been a season of disgrace for Holyhead Harpies Chaser Ginny Weasley (popularly known as Red Lightning), but today’s stunning upset against the Tutshill Tornadoes has left fans across the nation speechless. The Tornadoes, instead of flying triumphant in the wake of their 400-70 victory, descended in scattered confusion. Weasley on the other hand, flew right past the boundaries off the pitch after the final whistle, leaving her furious team behind to handle the press, hoards of angry fans, and their own humiliation._

_Brought onto the Harpies team at only eighteen, Ginny Weasley soared through her Quidditch career, leading the Harpies to a record-breaking four-year winning streak. Her return this season was under speculation due to fellow Chaser Giselle Phelps’ long sojourn at St. Mungo’s last year. Weasley, Phelps’ long-term partner, was by her side for months during her convalescence, both of them missing half a year of training._

_Her return to the pitch this season has been marred by misfortune. An ill-timed hex by a mysterious assailant led her to miss the first half of the Harpies’ first match of the season against the Appleby Arrows. The next two matches against Puddlemere United and Pride of Portee saw her off form for the first time in five years; one fan remarked that it felt like “watching a Kneazle strapped to a broom on fire.”_

_Devoid of her usual precision and confident leadership of her Chasers, today’s match against the Tornadoes saw Weasley refusing to make countless passes to Phelps despite clear openings. Her attempts to pass only to Demelza Robins (fresh off reserve and subbing for Valmai Morgan) or fly through the Tornadoes defence and score on her own led to two Bludger attacks and multiple losses of possession. All in all, a poor show of teamwork, terrible sportsmanship, and a joke of her former ability._

_Rumours of her suspension are already floating about, although it remains to be seen what team captain Gwenog Jones will decide. With tonight’s loss, the Harpies are officially out of this year’s League Cup, leading new favourites Puddlemere United and perhaps most surprisingly, the Chudley Cannons, through to the next stage. Friday evening will see the Tutshill Tornadoes facing the Wimbourne Wasps for the quarter final qualifiers._

****

* * *

_Present day _

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Morning Edition_

**_STRONGER TOGETHER:_ **

**_VOTE STRENGTH, VOTE MIGHT, VOTE FUDGE_ **

_In a triumphant start to his re-election campaign last night, the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge gave a speech in Godric’s Hollow on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the defeat of He Who Must Not Be Named. Standing strong against criticisms of his government in the wake of the attacks against the Hippocratic Society, the Minister’s speech evoked strong emotions amongst the gathered crowd, many of whom had lost family members in the war._

_“We must have faith and hold strong,” said the Minister addressing the crowd. “We must band together, for we are stronger together, and we must continue doing the work of peace building that we started as a community. Only by trusting in our governance, by believing wholly in our leaders, will we be able to fortify our world and ensure that we never fall prey to such darkness again.”_

_Cautioning against mistrusting government institutions, Minister Fudge noted that the Ministry of Magic would always remain open to any witch or wizard desiring assistance._

_Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge and Junior Assistant Percy Weasley were also in attendance alongside other members of the Ministry. Minister Fudge is due to begin visiting the wizarding public next week, to hear their concerns and learn their needs._

**_The Daily Prophet will be accepting inquiries to pass onto the Stronger Together campaign at the cost of two Sickles per inch of parchment. All proceeds will go towards the running of the campaign._ **

* * *

**_THE HOWLER_ **

**_Reliable, unbiased, timely news, not sensationalist screaming_ **

**_TERM LIMITS: NO LONGER NEGOTIABLE_ **

**_Opinion: Romilda Vane_ **

_Cornelius Fudge’s re-election campaign has kicked off with forced fanfare, with the Prophet boasting a reported five hundred wizard attendance at Godric’s Hollow on Tuesday evening. However, a Howler journalist in attendance noted, “there was enough room in the audience to have a little Quidditch match in front of the stage.”_

_Fudge’s government has dealt with its fair share of controversy, but his second decade in office has shown the sheer ineptitude of his leadership and the incompetence of his officials. The peak of all this has been the recent spate of anti-Muggle attacks in London over the past few months, brushed off as ‘Muggle carelessness’ despite strong evidence to the contrary (what Muggle has the ability to levitate and breathe fire?)._

_Fudge’s refusal to acknowledge his government’s own shortcomings have led to a massive loss of public trust, especially following the Ministry’s shoddy response to the shocking attacks on the Hippocratic Society last week. With no protection offered to those affected and no word on how the Ministry is going to proceed with the case, the public remains fearful and alarmed._

_The Wizengamot has never seen fit to initiate a term-limit for those holding the post of Minister, especially not with two wars coming so close together. The Great War of 1945 caused untold destruction, needing steady governance to rebuild and recover. The war against He Who Must Not Be Named may have ended twenty-five years ago, but it drew blood that still seeps. Term-limits aside, a mandatory seven-year re-election period remains firmly instated, though nobody saw fit to question why last year’s elections were mysteriously forgotten about. I’d like to think that not everybody is so apathetic that they would allow corruption this rampant to run unchecked. Such a deliberate flouting of our conventions should be an offence worthy of removal of a position. Those of us concerned about what has been happening should begin to understand that we have the power to hold our leaders accountable._

* * *

**_We at the Howler will always support independent journalism free from institutional bias. Our work would not be possible without your valuable donations, keeping us in print and allowing us to distribute to those who cannot afford to pay. Support us for a minimum of 5 sickles per month, easily deposited into the pouch accompanying each delivery owl_ **


	2. Chapter 2

The Auror Office was sweltering. It had been for weeks, just like the rest of the Ministry, with an uncharacteristically bright sun shining through the false windows. Ginny’s Weird Sisters t-shirt stuck around her arms and her back, which didn’t help her temper. Her buzzed hair wasn't stopping her head and neck from sweating, and she fumed in the chair that had been drawn out for her in front of Tonks’ desk.

“This is ridiculous,” Tonks huffed. She wiped her brow and dragged a rickety screen around her desk to hide Ginny from view of the other Aurors who were filing out of the briefing room. Satisfied that it would stand upright, she shrugged off her robes to reveal a Holyhead Harpies t-shirt underneath. The sight of it skewered Ginny’s heart. She looked away quickly.

Tonks cast a cooling charm and the ghost of a breeze tickled Ginny’s neck before wisping out of existence, leaving the room as hot as ever. The sun continued to glare through the high windows, as though chastising her for storming out of the briefing room after disagreeing with her assignment.

Ginny flicked her wand to cast a shade over the glass but the spell ricocheted back and hit her in the gut. “Oof,” she groaned, clutching her stomach. “Is this heat legal?”

“Can’t say it isn’t,” Tonks said, hopping onto her desk, crushing some parchment in the process and knocking over a wedding photograph of her and Fleur. “We wouldn’t be here if Fudge bothered paying Magical Maintenance a liveable wage,” she muttered, casting a quick _Muffliato_ around them. Ginny’s eyes fell to the campaign flyer tacked onto the corner of Tonks’ cubicle. They all had them, a miniature version of the huge campaign banners that hung from the high-ceilinged Ministry Atrium. The text on the flyers flashed between lime-green and purple, the colours following each other in a nauseating loop. The slogan read: VOTE STRENGTH. VOTE MIGHT. VOTE FUDGE.

Once she got her breath back, Ginny crossed her arms. Any other superior would’ve given her a warning about her attitude but Tonks didn’t seem bothered, popping a square of Droobles Best Blowing Gum into her mouth. She offered some to Ginny who shook her head.

“So,” Tonks said, casting a stronger cooling charm around them. “Why don’t you want to guard Luna Lovegood? Doomed love affair I should know about?”

Ginny spluttered. “It’s nothing like that.”

Tonks looked her over and winked. “Why’re you still wearing what you wore on Friday?”

Ginny groaned. “Where’d you see me?”

“Slipping out of the Ruby Red with Romilda Vane,” Tonks said, her eyes twinkling. Ginny chuckled and shrugged.

“Spent the weekend at hers,” she said.

“Good to see you getting out and about again,” Tonks said, her smile growing gentler. “Now can you tell me what your history is with Lovegood?”

The thought of Luna made a maelstrom of feelings buzz in her throat. Ginny wasn’t sure if what she had to say would make sense.

“Nothing’s wrong between us,” she said, flexing her hand over the arm of the chair. “We were friends at Hogwarts,” she said. “Fell out of touch because she started gallivanting around the world and had no time to write apparently.”

“And your Quidditch fame had nothing to do with it?” said Tonks slyly. Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Shut up.”

“Is that why they’ve reissued Harpies posters with your face on them?”

“Have they?” Ginny said, trying to sound nonchalant. Tonks laughed.

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” she said. “Next to Gwenog, you were their most valuable player. Course they’re looking to capitalise.”

“As long as I see a couple of Galleons of it, I don’t care what they use my face for.”

Tonks grinned. “Okay, back to Lovegood,” she said.

“We fell out of touch,” Ginny said, digging her nails into her palms and sifting through her thoughts as she rocked back in her chair.

Luna belonged to a group of volunteers called the Hippocrates Society that was dedicated to finding and bettering cures for magical diseases. Ginny knew some people involved; Ron’s wife Hermione volunteered a lot of time and even Fred and George had worked with them for a while. A week ago, six of the members had been attacked; houses ransacked, notes and rare ingredients stolen, and some even kidnapped. Two had been rescued, though they were still in St. Mungo’s, and one was still missing. The twins hadn’t been targeted, but Hermione had been hexed on her way home from the Ministry and had barely escaped.

Thinking through it all, Ginny still couldn’t find a suitable starting point so Tonks pressed on. “You shouldn’t have said no in front of Scrimgeour,” she said.

“He doesn’t care,” Ginny grunted. “Anyway, Shacklebolt’s in charge of the investigation, not him.”

“He’s still Head Auror,” Tonks reminded her, her lips barely moving as she watched an interdepartmental memo fly overhead. “And we can’t trust that he isn’t Fudge’s eyes and ears in the Auror Office. We need to tread carefully now. They’re beginning to say he’ll kick Madam Bones out if he wins the election.”

Amelia Bones was running for Minister and was much more popular in the streets than Fudge. She spent a lot of time visiting families and allowing people to owl her two-person campaign team to answer as many enquiries as possible. Fudge on the other hand, stuck to Ministry-organised rallies, confident of a third win.

“He can’t do that, she’s Head of the bloody DMLE!” Ginny snarled, but Tonks shushed her.

“It’s a little complicated right now,” she said. “We can’t afford to be reckless.”

“I wasn’t ––” Ginny argued, but Tonks gave her a serious look completely unlike her usual joking expression and she fell silent, anger smouldering over her skin. Tonks sighed, running a finger over the tattered corners of a Holyhead Harpies poster pinned to the side of the cubicle.

“You sure picked a time to leave the League,” she said. Ginny glanced at the poster too, but her gaze fell to a team photograph tacked underneath. There she was, grinning in the centre flanked by Giselle and Valmai. Her heart ached.

“The League’s not worth being in anymore,” she said, even as her tongue resisted the lie. Tonks’ gaze was too perceptive for her liking, so she stared at her feet instead.

When Tonks had reached out to her two years ago, Ginny had jumped at the chance to change careers even though being on the Harpies had always been her dream. At seventeen, she’d made it onto the starting team almost immediately out of Hogwarts after playing for the reserve for only two weeks, a record. It had been a whirlwind of practices, matches in Britain and away, and endless trysts with the media. Overnight, she’d become a national sensation.

Ginny had quickly become addicted to her own shine. Products had her name on them. She owned multiple top-standard broomsticks. Her face beamed from newsstands. She loved the attention, loved the adoration, but most of all, loved how easily she could make someone’s day. Fans begged for a smile, a kiss, a hug, going away exhilarated. With Galleons raining in from endorsements, Ginny could also afford to help people in more meaningful ways, sending money to fans in need. It was a never-ending cycle of prosperity. Everything she touched turned to gold, glimmering and plentiful. Whatever she gave came back to her tenfold. A cornucopia that had stopped abruptly when Giselle had gotten sick.

Giselle had been one of the other Chasers on the team and Ginny’s girlfriend through her Quidditch career. With thick raven hair and gorgeous tawny skin, Ginny had fallen arse over broomstick for her when they’d first met. The blood malediction had hit Giselle during a practice run - they’d been running drills and Ginny had glanced leftwards to see Giselle suddenly sagging over her broomstick. By the time they got her to St. Mungo’s, she was unconscious.

Ginny had taken time off to nurse her, and luckily a cure had been available. Blood maledictions were notoriously difficult to treat because every curse was so dark and specific, but Luna’s antidote had changed everything. It had saved Giselle’s life, which had saved Ginny, which had saved the Harpies from losing two of their best Chasers. Everything was supposed to go brilliantly.

Except they didn’t. After Giselle recovered, she and Ginny started fighting. In the flat, on the pitch, and most famously, in the changing rooms right before Ginny’s humiliating final Quidditch match. To add insult to the injury, the Harpies captain Gwenog Jones suspended her right after the match. Ginny had quit in rage and regretted it in the morning, but her pride kept her away, and when Tonks had mentioned open spots in the Auror training programme, she’d fallen over herself to accept. Now, Ginny had only been qualified for a few months but her track record was impeccable. She did good work and was considered a responsible junior Auror - at least until this morning.

The mix of sympathy and concern on Tonks’ expression was making her regret her outburst. Tonks had been her mentor during training, going above and beyond to convince Rufus Scrimgeour that she’d be a good recruit. Though Shacklebolt was keener on taking her on, Scrimgeour had judged Ginny by her last Quidditch match. _In a crisi_ s, he’d said, _she will lose her head and put her team at risk._

Tonks had fought for her, especially after Scrimgeour remained reluctant despite Ginny passing every test and keeping her cool. She’d given her a lifeline. A fresh start, a new career, and new source of income. It wasn’t even close to what she’d been making, but it was liveable and the work was good. A temper tantrum was the last thing Tonks deserved.

For the first time that morning, Ginny felt very silly.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“That’s alright,” Tonks said good-naturedly. “We’re all entitled to a temper tantrum every couple of months. Just not in front of the Head Auror though, yeah?”

Ginny chuckled, feeling a little lighter. “With Luna,” she started, and then stopped again as her fingers found their way to the silver chain around her neck. The pendant was a round nugget of charmed silver with the word _Friends_ engraved on it. Luna had given it to her seven years ago, back when they still were that. Friends.

“Has it got something to do with the antidote?” Tonks asked. Ginny felt a rush of relief at being given a rope that she could pull herself up with.

“She sold it to Burdock didn’t she?” she said. “Made it so people had to buy it from them instead of just getting it through St. Mungo’s.”

“Yeah,” Tonks said slowly, almost as though she didn’t entirely believe Ginny’s statement, but Ginny plodded on.

“I just… when Giselle was getting treated, there was a family in the next ward. Their son…”

An emaciated figure on the bed, wasting away as his parents sobbed over him. Ginny swallowed, blinking away the memories.

“They didn’t have the money to pay for the potion,” she said. “They’d been there for weeks and their son was dying. They couldn’t afford to do anything. St Mungo’s didn’t have anything else to offer them, but they kept him in the ward in case there was something the Healers could do.” She cleared her throat, trying to speak around the growing lump. “I paid for the potion.”

“What happened to him?” Tonks asked.

“He survived,” Ginny said. “But he wasn’t quite the same. The curse had been there too long. If I’d known a week or two earlier I would’ve been able to help them get him back whole.” She shrugged. “No one should keep cures like that from people.” Her mouth twisted, bitter and unhappy. “It’s cruel.”

“I can understand,” Tonks said gently. “But you’re going to have to try not to think about that too much. We’ve not got enough of you to go around for this assignment, what with half the department caught up with the anti-Muggle attacks.” She rolled her eyes. “Fudge’s orders are that we’re seen to be _doing something_ , but I don’t see how sending all our Aurors in a wild Snidget chase is going to solve it. There’s no plan of action from Scrimgeour at all.”

“Urgh.”

Tonks sighed. “That’s a rant for later,” she said. “Maybe we can get dinner this weekend on your day off, but I need you in top form right now. You’ll have to put away your grudge.”

“Is it fair that someone who’s done something like this gets to be protected?” Ginny asked.

“We can’t dole out justice only to people we like,” Tonks said, blowing a sky-blue bubble into the air. “I know it’s frustrating not to get all your questions answered,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how high up you are, there’s always a piece missing. You’ve got to go with your gut sometimes. If it’s screaming at you not to take this assignment, let me know and I’ll try to argue your case to Kingsley. Otherwise you’ll have to do your best.”

Ginny gave her a tight-lipped smile, watching more bubbles float upwards. She knew she couldn’t fight it.

“Look,” Tonks said. “I asked you to join the department because I trust your instincts. You’re committed and a bloody hard worker when the task calls for it, and you’re not as reckless as Scrimgeour thinks. I know you can do this.”

Ginny nodded again, running her thumb over her pendant. Even under all the frustration, distance, and resentment, a part of her had held onto the necklace and the hope that she and Luna would reconnect.

“You’ll be fine,” Tonks said.

“Yeah,” Ginny said, not quite believing it. She didn’t think she’d be able to get through the job without fucking up at least a little.

Heart filling with dread, she shoved her necklace under her t-shirt.


	3. Chapter 3

**_THE QUIBBLER_ **

**_WHERE DOES THE GOBLIN-CRUSHER GET HIS GOLD?_ **

**_Cornelius Fudge and the Misappropriation of Campaign Funds_ **

_Cornelius Fudge, two-time Minister for Magic, now running for his third term, has frequently denied accusations of hostile relations with Gringotts goblins, and has always insisted that the Ministry will peacefully cooperate with Gringotts, leaving the goblins to run the bank independently as they wish._

_BUT DO THEY?_

_Reports from inside the Ministry reveal the source of Fudge’s new campaign may not be from donations as previously suspected, but from the forceful seizure of Gringotts gold. Sources are quick to confirm that there are plans to overtake the bank and turn it into ‘Fudge’s personal gold mine.’_

_“He’s completely ruthless,” says a Ministry insider. “Has nothing to fear. He’s having the goblins rounded up en masse and leaving enchanted stand-ins to create a facade that all is running smoothly. If you go to Gringotts yourself and poke one of the goblins in the nose, you’ll find that it’s merely been poorly Transfigured and will collapse into a sock stuffed with… (contd. on page 14)_


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Ginny stood on the Lovegoods’ doorstep after having made her way gingerly through the overgrown garden. She shivered in the biting air, wishing she’d worn a cloak as she wrapped her navy Auror robes tighter around her body. Giving the door a sharp rap, she took a deep breath and braced herself.

Xenophilius Lovegood opened the door. His white cotton candy hair was sleep-flattened on one side, and he was in a long green nightshirt with a pattern of Snargaluff pods on them. Something about him looked halfway broken; Ginny didn’t know if it was because she hadn’t seen him in so long, but he looked aged beyond his years. She couldn’t even tell if he could see her clearly, but then his grey eyes focused on her brown ones, sharp and unhappy.

“Yes?” he asked, blocking the doorway. In all the times she’d encountered Xenophilius, Ginny had never seen him look so guarded. She supposed having a daughter attacked would be enough to turn even the most unflappable person to stoicism.

“Hello Mr. Lovegood,” she said, extending a hand. “I’m from the Auror Office. Ginny Weasley. I’m here to escort your daughter to the safehouse. You should have received an owl informing you of my arrival.”

Xenophilius’ pale eyes studied Ginny in silence. The scrutiny was disconcerting. When he didn’t take her hand, she let it fall and tightened her robes around her. “May I come in?” she asked. “Or will Ms Lovegood be meeting me out here?”

“Daddy who is it?”

Ginn’s heart slowed. Her hand jumped to her collar, grasping for the necklace underneath, but she shoved her palm into her pocket and clenched her fist.

Luna appeared behind Xenophilius. As their eyes met over the threshold, Ginny felt completely overwhelmed. Her breaths came quicker, her thoughts racing. Luna’s face was unreadable for a moment but then her eyes shone and the most beautiful smile bloomed across her face.

Ginny’s heart felt like it had taken a few good hits. Dumbstruck, she stared at Luna, who was wearing a set of sky-blue robes that made her grey eyes look blue too. Her dirty blonde hair was long and straggly down her back, but there was a shine to it that hadn’t been there at Hogwarts. And around her neck, behind the mess of Butterbeer corks on a string, hung a necklace identical to Ginny’s.

 _Friends_ , read the pendant. It could be charmed to read whatever they wanted, and they’d used to send tiny messages back and forth but it had lain dormant for years.

“Ginevra,” Luna sighed happily. “It _is_ you. After so long.”

A shiver ran up Ginny’s core, striking her alight like a match. Luna was the only person who called her Ginevra. The name on her tongue felt solid and magnificent, something Ginny could carry without feeling like femininity was being foisted on her.

“Er, Ms Lovegood,” she said brusquely, trying to sound professional, but her voice croaked and she faltered on Luna’s surname. “I’m here to escort you to your safehouse. May I come in to brief you?”

Luna’s smile wavered a little, but she tugged her father away and nodded. “Of course, come in,” she said. “I’m almost all packed. You see, the owl came quite late last night and we were quite fast asleep but I just managed to wake up when the rapping got too loud…”

Ginny followed Luna into the cylindrical house. Her head spun when she stepped inside. All the furniture was built to fit the circular room, and the paintings on the wall were bursting with colour and life. It was a lot to take in, especially because the artwork was so painfully Luna…

“I like your hair,” Luna said when she came back with a teapot and a bright yellow mug on a tray. The teapot was whistling an old children’s song. Luna placed the tray on a rickety table in front of an overstuffed couch.

“Thank you,” Ginny said awkwardly. “Erm, will we be able to have a private room? There’s some information that I can only give you in confidence.”

“I doubt there’s anything that you have to say to Luna that I cannot hear,” Xenophilius said, his voice cold and cracking at the edges. “She is my daughter. I have a right to know where she’s being taken.”

“It’s alright,” Luna said airily, waving away her father’s concerns - valid concerns, Ginny thought, staring at Xenophilius’ face, now caught somewhere between frustration and desperation. “Come upstairs, Ginevra.”

She flicked her wand and the tray followed her up the tightly winding staircase, wobbling precariously. Ginny followed, trying to avoid Xenophilius’ eye. She couldn’t say anything to comfort him but she knew he had every right to be as upset as he was. Merlin knows she would’ve been.

On the second floor, a wooden printing press with a self-cranking handle spat out copies of the Quibbler, making a deafening racket. Luna hummed and ignored it but Ginny flinched as a rogue copy flew towards her head.

“Careful!” Luna said cheerily, and Ginny took the rest of the stairs two at a time and walked into Luna’s bedroom. It was painted in the same bright manner as the rest of the house with a mural of flowers swaying slowly around the window. There was a framed photo of Luna with her mother on the bedside table, both of them hugging. All of it would’ve been standard fare, had Ginny not turned around and been confronted with the rest of the room full of photos of her face.

If this was in the Auror Office, she could’ve sworn she was a wanted fugitive.

Luna seemed to have collected everything ever published about Ginny. The official Harpies posters in dark green and gold were hung overhead, Ginny’s face grinning with such smug confidence that she barely recognised herself. There were the earliest photographs with the full team, back when she still had hair down to her waist, the ones where she’d chopped it off in a bob, and the most recent ones after she’d cut it short. Her mother had yelled her ear off and threatened to grow it back, but Bill had intervened. There were also cuttings from fan magazines, articles from the _Prophet_ and the Quidditch League newsletter, what seemed like every interview she’d ever given, as well as an advertisement for Fizzing Whizzbees.

“Luna…” Ginny said. Luna put the tea tray on a table and smiled at her.

“Oh I’ve been following your career the whole way,” she said. “This is everything I could get my hands on. Isn’t it wonderful? I’ve put it all together chronologically, though I do think it makes more sense if I arrange everything by mood…”

She frowned at the wall but Ginny didn’t know what to think. She continued to gape at it, skimming over everything again. Luna was right. The left side of the mass of cuttings began with a tiny announcement about the Harpies reserve team in 1997, and then a slightly larger one that announced her promotion to the starting team two weeks later. Looking closely, she could even chart the change in her physique, starting from lean and lithe to more buff and broad. Somewhere in the middle was a photograph cut out of a Quidditch newsletter, showing her laughing and zig-zagging between some other players. Her resemblance to Fred and George was so startling that it took her by surprise.

The collage of clippings ended just before Ginny’s final match - there was no article up about it, though she knew dozens had been published with her scowling face on the front page. A third glance around confirmed two things; one Luna had (deliberately or unintentionally) not put up anything about her and Giselle together, and two, she’d missed out on the few _Which Witch?_ and _Wink Wink_ photoshoots that Ginny had done. Ginny didn’t know if Luna simply didn’t know about the magazines - they were lesbian magazines after all - or if she’d just not wanted to hang up naked pictures of her old classmate on her bedroom wall.

“This is…” she stuttered, and then gulped. “I thought you were abroad all this time. How’d you get all this?”

“Oh I wasn’t,” Luna said with a bright smile. “I had Daddy collect every piece of news about you, and then in your second year on the team, I found out I could subscribe to a Ginevra Weasley package! It cost ten sickles monthly but they send you absolutely everything, it was fantastic - though I’m quite sure most of it was lies. A lot of those gossip magazines claimed to say things you never would’ve said. Or maybe you did say them to amuse yourself.”

Ginny chuckled and shrugged. Luna beamed even brighter. “I could keep up with you wherever I went! It helped when I missed you too much.”

Ginny didn’t know what to say to that. She found a small stool and sat on it instead.

“I like your hair short,” Luna said, sitting on the bed and beaming at her. “It seems very convenient. You look very handsome.”

“Ah, thanks,” Ginny said, hand brushing over the softly buzzed hair on the back of her head, but her heart ached even as the words fell out of her mouth. All of this felt so painfully familiar, reminiscent of the long afternoons they’d spend together walking through the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest hand in hand, having conversations that they wanted no one else to listen to. She wasn’t a teenager anymore and neither was Luna, but all of this felt too easy to fall back into.

Ginny straightened her back and cleared her throat, neck prickling with embarrassment about the various versions of her face smirking into the room.

“I’m to be your round-the-clock guard,” she said, reaching into her robes and retrieving a piece of parchment. “I’m to move you to a safer location - the address is on that, it’s under the Fidelius Charm so it’s just the two of us and two other Aurors that’ll know of it. One who cast the charm, the other who’ll be replacing me once a week - I get a day off every week so…”

She trailed off. Luna’s eyes were wide and expectant.

“I can’t tell you how long you’ll have to stay,” Ginny said. “But it’s for as long as we find out who’s behind the assault. You’ll not be able to do very much by yourself I’m afraid, and I’m not allowed to let you outside, so if you’ve got anything you need it would be best to gather it all and take it there.”

Luna’s gaze shifted from expectant to curious. Ginny felt stupidly vulnerable, like she was being read too accurately for her liking. She tried to keep her back straight and not wilt over.

“Do you have any questions?” she asked.

“I won’t get to see Daddy, will I?” she said. Ginny shook her head and Luna looked contemplative for a moment. “Will I get to write him?”

“I can arrange to have correspondence delivered,” Ginny said. “There may be a delay, we’ll have to use a liaison. He can’t write directly to you.”

“Will I get time to say goodbye?” Luna asked. Ginny nodded quickly.

“Of course,” she said. “Ideally we’d leave as soon as possible, but please, take all the time you need. I’ll wait down - I’ll wait outside for you to finish.”

“Will you be living with me?” Luna asked. Ginny hesitated.

“Well,’ she said. “In a manner of speaking I suppose, though I may be patrolling the outside of where you’ll be staying. It depends.”

“So you’ll be leaving me all alone, cut off from everything, no human contact?” Luna asked, her voice cooling slightly. Ginny felt suddenly vulnerable. Luna had never used that tone with her before.

“It’s for your safety,” she said, trying to speak gently. “You weren’t attacked as badly as some of the others, but the Ministry believes you’re high risk enough to require full protection of the Fidelius and a full time Auror guard. I will be responsible for you six out of seven days of every week, and on every seventh day, my superior Gawain Robards will guard you in my place. I’ll introduce you to him before I leave at the end of the first week.”

“So you’re locking me up for something that’s not even my fault?” Luna said in the same light and cool voice. Ginny grimaced.

“I’ll be staying in the flat with you,” she said. “It has two bedrooms, so you’ll have your privacy, and the rest of the place to do with as you wish.”

Luna was still staring at her. Ginny grew red under her gaze and she stood up, wiping her sweaty palms on her robes.

“I’ll wait outside,” she said. “Let me know when you’re ready.”

“You’re not nice anymore,” Luna said.

That stung.

Ginny pursed her lips and took a breath. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I have to do my job to keep you safe.”

She turned heel and hurried downstairs, away from her own smirking faces and from Luna’s unhappy stare.

 _You’re not nice anymore_ echoed in her head, but somehow, Ginny had a feeling that she hadn’t meant it about the moment. This felt more like a value judgement, like Luna had stripped Ginny of everything she’d built up to protect herself and declared that at her core, she was rotten.

 _Well it’s not like being nice did me any good_ , she thought, her mind rushing in frustration as she strode out of the Lovegood home. _Being nice had me losing my girlfriend, which made my career fall apart, which had me fucking end up here_!

Unable to scream, Ginny huffed, trying to take deep breaths to cool down. Her face was warm with anger, but she realised that her rage wasn’t directed at Luna. It was Giselle’s face burning in her mind and Ginny wanted to seize the image and crush it, but she stared at the sky and counted to ten instead.

As the clouds moved across the blue, Ginny calmed down enough to stop her mind racing, but even when her pendant burned underneath her robes, she barely noticed.


	5. Chapter 5

Two hours later, Ginny and Luna Apparated to the safe house with two shrunken trunks and a large multicoloured knapsack. They reappeared in the empty corridor in front of the door of their flat and Ginny stayed close to Luna until she’d done a cursory sweep. There wasn’t a human being in the immediate vicinity, though plenty on the floors above and below, all Muggles. Shacklebolt had deemed Muggle London a better option, placing this safehouse in the middle of a large block of buildings and clearing the whole floor.

Luna was staring at the gold number six on the door while Ginny fumbled with a set of keys. “Got everything?” she muttered, pushing the door open without waiting for an answer. She waved her wand around again to check if anyone was inside but it was pointless. The only things in the flat were some sparse furniture in a very Muggle style and a lot of dust. There was no carpet on the wooden floors, no curtains on the windows. It almost felt like nobody had ever lived there and there was a draught to prove it.

Luna followed her slowly, grey eyes wide as she looked around. She let go of Ginny’s arm and Ginny felt empty at the loss. Luna had been so warm, so soft and close, and she hadn’t realised how much she’d missed it. How much she’d missed Luna’s soft smell, like damp, rich earth and a barest whiff of lilies.

Before Luna could get any further than the kitchenette, Ginny strode into one of the rooms. There was a big wooden bed with a single bedside table and a sturdy wooden wardrobe. A door on the far end led to a small bathroom done in pale green tile. The plumbing looked old and a tad rusty and the whole place smelled like dust, but when Ginny turned on a tap there was a clear, cold flow of water. She tried the shower and the flush. Everything was in working order.

She looked into the next room, a bathroom even smaller than the last. The showerhead was screwed haphazardly into the wall and one of the taps didn’t work but there was running water and working plumbing, which was all that was necessary.

The last room was a tiny, dusty spare bedroom with a low single bed with no headboard and a flimsy looking cupboard. Ginny sighed and took her own trunk out of the pocket of her robes before enlarging it and setting it down. She tossed her robes onto the bed before walking into the sitting room again. Luna had already enlarged her trunks and thrown them open, the glittering, multicoloured contents the only spot of colour in the bare flat, but she was staring around the flat in contemplation.

“It’s not much,” Ginny said as a floorboard creaked under her boot. “But it’ll be safe.”

Luna nodded, still looking around, and Ginny wondered briefly if they’d ever speak again. Then she turned and gave Ginny a small smile.

“I’ll unpack, if that’s alright with you,” she said. Ginny shrugged.

“Make yourself at home,” she said, waving her wand to cast some semi-permanent warming charms. “The more comfortable you are, the better.”

She walked into the spare bedroom and shut the door, dropping down to the mattress and wincing. The bed was much lower than she’d anticipated and it felt like she’d hit the ground. The mattress was thin and uncomfortable, but Ginny had slept on worse.

She cast a couple of warming charms in her room before reaching into the top compartment of her trunk. The first to come out was a Sneakoscope; she put it on the rickety bedside table before pulling out all the mail she’d been ignoring. Tossing the letters onto her bed, she unrolled a large poster and scowled. Her own face beamed back, three years younger, oblivious to everything that would happen in the years to come.

**GINNY WEASLEY, NUMBER 24, CHASER**

She unfurled the letter to reveal Gwenog’s precise, tightly curling script.

_Ginny,_

_Don’t be too angry. I know we didn’t ask your permission, but the Dilys Dewernt Charity Tournament is coming up and we wanted to raise more proceeds. I know you appreciate the work they do or else you wouldn’t have donated six straight months worth of your salary to them after Giselle was cured. I can arrange to have some of the profits from your poster go straight to your vault but that’s on you to decide._

_There are people that still love you Ginny. Fans who still adore you, who know you’re worth more than one bad season. I know you say you couldn’t have come back, that you couldn’t have played with her still on the team. The Ginny I knew didn’t let a personal grudge stop her from doing a fantastic job. Remember when you played with Harper when she was subbing for Morgan? You hated her but you still played a bloody brilliant match._

_I won’t ask you to come back because I know you must find your work rewarding. You’ve always been the type to help people, to want to do good more than seize fame and ride high on that. I’ve admired you for that, how you’d always go out of your way to boost team morale and keep us all together when we lost._

_We miss you. All of us do. And if you choose to come back, I’ll put you back on the starting team, I promise. Robins is good, but she’s no you, so consider your spot open if you ever return._

_Gwenog._

“And how much of your ‘ _I miss you_ ’ is because you’re having a bad season?” Ginny muttered, tossing the letter aside and picking up Demelza’s instead. The envelope was a bit thicker and she tore it open to find a Chocolate Frog Card. Wendelin the Weird laughed as the flames around her flickered higher. Ginny chuckled and put the card aside before opening Demelza’s letter. The younger Chaser had replaced Ginny on the starting team after she’d quit.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I remembered you were missing Wendelin’s card so I sent it along when I got one last. Let’s have a pub crawl under Diagon again soon! Or at least meet at the Leaky’s for a pint with Angelina, Alicia and Katie? The Gryffindor Chasers, back together again! I’m desperate for the company of someone who isn’t a total arsehole, which is everybody on this bloody team except you._

_Gwenog continues to be infuriating. She wanted to sell posters for the DDCT and I didn’t want to be on them, but then she said we’d sell posters of you because, I quote, “everyone wants a slice of her, even if she did crawl away like a coward”. What a cow! I almost hexed her right there, but Geeta stopped me when she saw I was itching towards my wand. If she wasn’t on reserve, I don’t know what I’d do with myself. She’s the only friend I’ve got here._

_Giselle’s her usual bitchy self but I suppose I don’t have to tell you that. I still haven’t forgiven her for what she did to you. She was such a bitch and you deserve so much better after everything you did for her. I’m sorry they’re selling your posters. Gwenog’s definitely going to send you some insipid excuse of a letter and I’m here to tell you to **DISREGARD IT!!!** She’s just in it for the money._

_It’s good that you left Gin. The team’s gone rotten. Everyone’s in it for the fame, no one even plays Quidditch like it’s meant to anymore. Fouling for the drama of it all - urgh. I can’t stand it!! I have half a mind to transfer over at the end of the season, but I hear the other teams are all the same. The whole League’s going to shit._

_Miss you! Let’s meet soon! Let me know when and I’ll be there before you can even decide a place._

_Geeta says hi too._

_Lots of love and many frustrated tears,_

_Demelza_

Ginny’s irritation with Gwenog was quickly overrun by her affection for Demelza. They’d been friends at Hogwarts. Demelza had been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain the year after Ginny and she’d been signed onto the Harpies first team two years ago as Ginny’s replacement. It was a bittersweet move but Ginny had approved without resentment - there was no one else on reserve she would’ve wanted to play in her place.

There was also a note from Romilda Vane, but all it had on it was a lipstick kiss and a scrawl that said _let me know when you want to do this again_. The rest of her mail was from her mother (something about dress robes), Bill (asking if she could help him disarm an expert Bat-Bogey hexer), and pamphlets for Quidditch-related sales that kept finding their way to her like an onerous gnome infestation.

She poked around for some parchment to write her replies but saw that her only quill was broken. Groaning, she swung herself out of bed, the frame creaking as it released her weight. She ambled outside to ask Luna for a quill, her brain still buzzing with the contents of her letters. It took a moment to register to the sight in front of her, but when she did, she stopped in her tracks.

The sitting room was an explosion of colour. There were plants all over the ceiling and the windows; verdant vines creeping over the walls with flowers of every colour and kind; hibiscuses bleeding a brilliantly rich red, tiny yellow hellebores dotting themselves around the kitchen cabinets, forget-me-nots and morning glories peeping around the windows in all shades of blue. There were potted plants on top of the kitchen shelves and a Flitterbloom near the door. Luna had also hung stars on the ceiling, and they sparkled gently amongst the leaves. The couch was still a boring brown, but there was now a midnight blue carpet on the floor dotted with flecks of gold in a spiralling starburst. In a corner, an overstuffed bookshelf spilled over with leather tomes and parchment. Ginny had no idea how Luna had transported that.

The wall next to Ginny’s bedroom door had a corkboard attached with little notes and news clippings, one of which was a yellowing _Daily Prophet_ front page from almost twenty-five years ago. The page was dominated by a photograph of Lily and James Potter holding a smiley baby Harry in their arms.

_1 November 1981_

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Special Edition_

**_HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED DEFEATED_ **

_(full article overleaf)_

_In remembrance of James and Lily Potter, and their selfless sacrifice to the cause of light._

_We remember you with gratitude, with love, and with the fond hope that you may rest in peace._

_Mr Potter (21) and Mrs Potter (21) are survived by their son Harry (1)._

Ginny watched baby Harry laugh as James wiped some drool off his chin. Above the clipping was a slightly yellowing note in large loopy handwriting that read:

_My dearest girl,_

_You are the light of my life. Congratulations on capturing your very first Wrackspurt! I am so proud of the witch you’re growing to be. I hope you like the little gift!_

_With lots of love,_

_Mum._

The gift was nowhere to be seen, though Ginny knew what it had been – a shimmery net that could purportedly catch anything. It was one of Luna’s most prized possessions. Ginny wondered if she’d brought it here.

Luna was rummaging through one of the trunks when she stood up and looked over. “Yes?” she asked.

Ginny had forgotten about the quill, too entranced by the way the flat was bursting to life in front of her very eyes. “Luna this is brilliant,” she said. “You’re brilliant.”

Luna’s answering smile was brighter than all the stars, making Ginny’s insides curl with quiet pleasure. She allowed herself a moment to sink into the atmosphere of the new flat, made beautiful in a way only Luna could. It might’ve been too much for anybody else, but Ginny had once been in a place where she thought she’d never get enough of Luna, who didn’t express herself anything less than completely. Looking around now, she found herself falling back to that part of her past.

“It reminds me of the part of the Forbidden Forest where we used to…” she said, but she didn’t finish her sentence. Her cheeks turned red. Luna smiled and nodded.

“That inspired it,” she said. “I wanted to put up more flowers though. Did you need something?”

“Just a quill,” Ginny said, walking up to her slowly. Luna retrieved a standard white feather quill from her trunk. Their hands brushed each other when she passed it over. Ginny’s heart leapt, fingertips sparking, and she took the quill with a quick thank you. Mesmerised, she watched Luna return to her unpacking, suddenly filled with more affection than she had been in years. Luna hummed a lullaby as she worked, and all Ginny could do was watch as her heart opened again for the first girl she’d fallen in love with.

> Image Description: A digital drawing of Luna and Ginny in a room surrounded by potted plants. Luna is handing Ginny a white quill. Art by  Narrowredoubt. End description.


	6. Chapter 6

_ Six months ago _ _ _

_The Ruby Red, in collaboration with the Muggle Rights Fund is proud to present:_

**_Summer Bonanza!_ **

_Ring in the summer with us at the Ruby Red, open for **one night only** to magical beings and beasts of all identities. Show your support with your very own Cheering Crest*, a badge designed to amplify your cheers so you can really show the bands what they mean to you._

_Entry: 5 Sickles (no drink) 10 Sickles (one drink), 5 Galleons (two drinks and a chance to meet the performers. In the event that the performers do not want to meet you and hex you off the premises, we will not provide a refund)_

**_Lineup:_ **

**_The Weird Sisters_ **

**_The Caterwauling Banshees_ **

**_The Not-So-Little Mermaids_ **

**_GryffinROAR_ **

**_Celestina Warbeck_ **

_All proceeds from this concert will be donated directly to the Muggle Rights Fund, a foundation that supports upholding Muggle rights in wizarding society by pushing for stricter legislation against anti-Muggle attacks, as well as protecting the families of our Muggleborn brethren. The Fund also donates a portion of its gold to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry each year to assist Muggleborn students in need._

**_*The Ruby Red and the Muggle Rights Fund will not be liable for any loss of hearing, loss of consciousness, or deliriousness caused by the badge. Purchase and use are at your own risk. May cause uncontrollable euphoria. Voice amplification may last 2-5 days._ **


	7. Chapter 7

At the end of a quiet first week, Ginny slipped out of the flat after introducing Luna and Robards to each other. A sense of relief mingled with some unwelcome guilt as she left. Things between her and Luna had been friendly, but after gushing about the new plant décor, Ginny hadn’t known how to make any further overtures. The rest of the week had passed in a flurry of nervous smiles and small talk, with Ginny tiptoeing around any mention of Luna’s work for fear that it would bring up a conversation she didn’t want to have. The conflicting buzz of feelings was difficult to sift through; even as Ginny found herself pleased to be in Luna’s company again, Luna’s sale of the cure kept looming in her mind.

As she left, Robards had slipped her a note from Tonks that read ‘ _Come round for dinner please! Bring yourself, Fleur’s made plum pudding._ ’ After a quick stop and shower at her own flat, Ginny Flooed over, pleased that her Friday night wouldn’t be spent alone.

“Red Lightning has struck!” she said with a whoop, brushing soot off her robes as she climbed out of Tonks’ fireplace. “I’ve brought myself as asked - oop.”

She froze. Fleur was nowhere in sight, but Shacklebolt was digging into a plate of pork chops, sitting next to none other than Alastor Moody himself. Ginny gulped, face burning, wanting to creep back into the fireplace and re-enter in a more dignified manner. Working at the Auror Office meant you never went a day without hearing about the man widely considered to be one of the greatest Aurors in history. Tonks had been his last mentee, and Ginny knew they still kept in touch.

There were a few other junior Aurors clustered by the couch, all of them looking equally wary of Moody. Ginny inched into the sitting room as Tonks rushed in with a grimace. “Wotcher,” she said. “Sorry for the misleading invite. This needed to be under wraps.”

“That’s okay,” Ginny said, eager to get out of Moody’s line of sight, but she had a feeling his magical eye would see her no matter where she stood.

There was a generous spread over the table; roast pork, roast potatoes and a loaf of fresh bread. The plum pudding sat next to it on a plate with floral edging. A pot of soup stirred itself lazily on the stove just out of sight in the kitchen. As Ginny hovered by the couch next to Padma Patil, Harry Floo-ed into the flat, taking in the crowd with a nonplussed expression.

“Is this an office dinner?” he asked.

“More or less,” Tonks said, gesturing for them to move and clear space in front of the fireplace. “Come help yourselves, there’s plenty of food.”

Another figure came whooshing through the fireplace. Ginny balked at the sight of Robards stepping out with a cough.

“Wait a minute!” she exclaimed. “You’re supposed to be at the flat! Why’re you here?”

“Don’t worry Ginny,” Tonks said. “The Fidelius will hold. We trust that everyone will be safe for tonight. This won’t take more than a couple of hours at most.”

Ginny wanted to ask why they needed to stand guard if that was the case, but Moody’s eye was too unnerving. 

“Help yourselves, please, everybody,” Tonks said, ushering Robards and Padma towards the food on the counter. “It’s always better to talk on full stomachs.”

Padma flicked her wand to clean up the hearth before smiling at Ginny. “What an ambush eh?” she whispered. 

Ginny smiled back. Padma’s long hair was in a single braid all the way down to her waist, and she wore deep brown lipstick and green robes that glittered when she moved. She was on the Hippocratic Society case partly because Parvati had been one of the targeted six; Terry Boot was guarding her. Padma had been assigned to guard Hermione. Ginny had been pleased about that because she trusted her a bit more than the rest of them except maybe Harry, who was guarding Rolf Scamander. 

They shuffled awkwardly to get some food, edging around Moody’s line of sight the best they could. Ginny thought the crowd made a strange contrast to the large red poster hung above Tonks’ couch that read: _STAND UP FOR MUGGLE RIGHTS!_ Underneath in smaller letters were the details for a charity concert from six months ago. The poster was prone to yelling profanities - Ginny had learned that the hard way.

She settled on the couch next to Padma with a plate balanced precariously on her knees as the fireplace turned green once more. A stately looking witch in green robes and a monocle got out, flicking her wand around her to clean up the soot. Ginny had been about to take a large bite of her roast potato but she put her fork down, stomach churning. 

“Oh good everyone’s here,” Tonks said with a wide smile that didn’t quite cover the sense of weariness on her face. The newcomer, Amelia Bones settled into the chair next to Moody, leaving the room sombre. Ginny didn’t know what kind of meeting would necessitate the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to sit down at Tonks’ and Fleur’s kitchen table in the company of Alastor Moody, but she figured it couldn’t be good.

She noticed Scrimgeour’s absence, but before she could ask any questions, Madam Bones began to speak. “Shacklebolt?” she said in a deep, measured tone. “Would you like to do the honours?”

Shacklebolt, who’d managed to clean his plate in the time it had taken for all of them to settle, wiped his mouth with a napkin and cleared his throat.

“I have to reiterate Tonks’ apologies for bringing you here under false pretenses,” he said, addressing the junior Aurors gathered on the couch and coffee table. “This is a matter of extreme confidentiality. I trust you understand what that entails.”

“Why aren’t we meeting at the Ministry instead?” Padma asked.

“Let’s put it this way,” Tonks said. “We’re pretty sure Fudge’s campaign flyers have ears.”

“We had to omit a few details from the case briefings we’ve had so far,” Shacklebolt said, his deep voice reverberating around the room. “That’s for our own safety and to keep the operation from being compromised.”

“Oh?” Harry asked. Shacklebolt nodded, tapping his wand against the wall behind him. A shimmering seal of the Burdock Corporation sprung to view, a spiky violet pod rotating over golden letters.

“Madam Bones has been spearheading an off-the-books investigation into Burdock for some time,” Shacklebolt said. “We have reason to believe that the attacks on the Hippocrates Six were not the work of a rogue group.”

Ginny’s stomach twisted. She wanted to put her plate down, but Terry Boot was sitting on the coffee table and there was no room.

Shacklebolt tapped his wand on the wall again and Burdock’s seal changed to portraits of its board members. Amongst them, Ginny recognised certain senior members of the Ministry of Magic like Dolores Umbridge, and others she knew had influence, like Lucius Malfoy. 

“Most of you know that Burdock buys cures from the Hippocrates Society,” Shacklebolt continued. “They hold rare antidotes in storage, funding further research and development, and keep existing cures safe from tampering or unauthorised experimentation.” He paused again, and Ginny felt a rush of dread. “However, the gold trails from Burdock’s vaults into those of many prominent Ministry members and their affiliates raises some worrying questions.”

“Such as?” asked Terry Boot.

“Burdock’s been responsible for a steady price increase for a lot of these cures,” Shacklebolt said. “St. Mungo’s doesn’t have access until patients pay. Burdock releases each antidote on a case by case basis only after processing each payment.” He paused again, looking around to see if everyone had understood. “On the surface it’s bothersome, especially for families with limited funds, but if those funds are being pocketed by Ministry officials, it raises a lot of suspicion about Burdock’s current purpose.”

“Making money off cures?” asked another one of the Aurors, Celeste Jordan, brushing her long braids over her shoulder. “There’s nothing inherently wrong with that is there? Anyone can have a hand in business.”

“Not when that gold is being siphoned into the vaults of Ministry officials who’re more content with sitting on their arses than checking the rise of anti-Muggle sentiment,” Moody growled, making Ginny’s heart race.

“Are the attacks linked?” she asked. “The anti-Muggle attacks and the ones against the Six?”

“It’s unlikely that the perpetrators are linked,” Shacklebolt said. “But we can’t rule out the possibility that the sentiment is the same. The Society also works on cures for Muggle illnesses that Muggle Healers don’t have antidotes for.”

“One of our theories was that someone was trying to stop them from doing that,” Tonks said.

“Isn’t that a Statute violation though?” Terry Boot asked. “I mean, if they work with Muggle Healers or start trials on Muggles? I don’t think the Ministry has to go through Burdock to stop them from doing that.”

“The Ministry has sent several cease and desist warnings,” Robards said. “But so far there’s no evidence of a Statute breach, so they can’t technically be persecuted.”

Shacklebolt waved his wand over the images he’d conjured and new ones shimmered into place, the faces of the Hippocrates Six. Luna’s face hovered between Hermione and Neville Longbottom’s. Parvati Patil was directly below her, flanked by Rolf Scamander and Penelope Clearwater. There was a little red X over Penelope’s name - she still hadn’t been found after her kidnapping. Ginny could feel Padma squirming next to her at the sight of her sister’s face on the wall.

“Like Tonks said, one of our theories was that the Six were attacked for researching Muggle Healing,” Shacklebolt said. “They were the ones most involved, most recently to develop a cure for the Muggle illness they call ‘Cancer’.”

“So you’re saying that Burdock - motivated by anti-Muggle sentiments - attacked the Six for their work?” Harry asked.

“That _was_ the initial assumption,” Shacklebolt said. “Except —”

He waved his wand again. Now there were figures underneath each shimmering face, the sum of Galleons for each of their antidote sales (or in Parvati’s and Penelope’s cases, two sales each). Ginny gulped as she took in the numbers. Hermione’s was over two hundred thousand. Luna’s was almost twice that. Next to her, Ginny could feel Padma’s agitation growing; a little huff escaped her lips and she shifted around again.

“I know that it might not make sense that Burdock would attack the Six after having spent so much on buying the cures off them in the first place,” Shacklebolt said. “Unless of course they’re planning on retrieving the gold somehow, but that seems implausible, given that the six of them haven’t kept their gold at Gringotts, which makes it a lot harder to trace.”

An uneasy prickling was spreading through Ginny’s stomach. The implication that the Six were hiding the gold for some suspicious reason or another wasn’t something she could digest very easily. Padma was seething, glaring at anyone who dared look at her, while Harry was spinning his wand so fast between his fingers it was a blur. Ginny stared at Shacklebolt, waiting for an answer, but it was Celine that spoke first.

“So wait,” she said with a huge frown. “You’re basically saying that Burdock and the Society are in cahoots to make money off Healing? Aren’t people still getting healed though? The Society’s done so much to help, I don’t understand what’s so wrong with making money off —”

“Why research Muggle maladies and do nothing with it?” Shacklebolt asked. “Are they even researching these cures at all, or is it a front to make the Society - and Burdock by extension - look like they’re on the right side of Muggle rights?”

“Money is the simplest way to keep things from the people that need it,” Madam Bones said. “It looks completely harmless on the front, as evidenced by Auror Jordan’s confusion.” Ginny glanced at Celine, whose dark cheeks seemed to be turning slightly pink. “But how many people do you know that have such stores of gold? How many people will be able to afford it?”

Ginny thought about the other family in the ward with Giselle as the unease congealed in her throat. It was luck that she was there to help them. If she hadn’t been… if something like that had happened to her own family before her Quidditch fame and before the twins opened their joke shop, would her family be able to scrape anything together? Where would they even get the gold from in the first place? Of course there was always Auntie Muriel but…

She and Harry exchanged glances. His green eyes were sharp with distrust as he looked at Madam Bones.

“I mean no offence,” he said, voice trembling slightly, with rage or nerves, Ginny couldn’t really tell. “But Hermione’s Muggleborn. And as far as I know, so is Penelope Clearwater - who we _still_ haven’t found by the way…”

“There’s a team out looking —” Robards started.

“What team?” Padma exploded.

Ginny flinched, almost dropping her plate.

“You bring us here, tell us that we need to keep this under wraps - _without_ Scrimgeour present might I add, which seems to imply that the actual fucking Head of the Auror Office is in Fudge’s pocket,” Padma spat, clearly not caring that she was yelling at all her superiors. “You barely found my sister alive and you wouldn’t let me take on _that_ assignment or guard her now and if we’re the only Aurors you trust, how come none of _us_ are looking for Penelope? Why’ve you got us all shut in with the Six - the people you’re saying are working with Burdock? Are we keeping them safe or keeping them locked up? Why don’t you just dump them in one safehouse and put _that_ under Fidelius instead of spreading us thin like this? If you suspect them so much, why haven’t you had us interrogate them or put them in the Clostra?” 

A heavy silence fell over them. Ginny patted Padma’s hand gingerly. She understood her anger; even with her doubts about Luna, she was finding it hard to believe that Hermione was culpable. She _knew_ Hermione. None of this made any sense. It was understandable that Padma would be even more reluctant to believe that of Parvati.

“The Clostra is only for those awaiting transportation to Azkaban, or awaiting trial for serious crimes,” Shacklebolt said, referring to the underground holding cells the Ministry used. “In any case, an interrogation isn’t safe when you’re in closed, Fidelius-bound quarters with them with no back-up and I would advise you against it.”

“But —”

“I understand your difficulties, Auror Patel, but please bear with us as we try to get to the bottom of this.”

Padma opened her mouth again but Madam Bones spoke first. “We don’t have a lot of concrete answers right now,” she said. “All we have are some suspicions, based off things that we’ve seen happening for a long time. Consider these attacks as the beginning of a slow encroachment on those more vulnerable than us. Fudge’s administration believes that having been on the winning side in the last war is enough to prove that their prejudices are not the same as He Who Must Not Be Named.”

“Pretty sure a lot of people think that,” Terry Boot muttered.

“There is a prevailing belief that only those like He Who Must Not Be Named and his followers are capable of such cruelty,” Madam Bones continued. “But we can all fall victim to such ideology if we do not question our beliefs. We all have the ability to cause harm, which is why we need to be careful in our treatment of others.”

“FUCK YEAH!” yelled the poster. Tonks shot a silencing spell at it.

Madam Bones’ gaze swept across the room, peering at everyone through her monocle. If Ginny wasn’t so confused and worried, she would’ve been impressed. A speech worthy of a Minister of Magic, surely, but in this moment, she didn’t know who to trust.

Harry started “Look, I get it, but what makes you think Hermione and Pen —” 

It was Moody that interrupted this time. He seemed to smile a little, though on his scarred face it looked much more like a grimace. 

“Voldemort was a half-blood wasn’t he?” he said, both eyes boring right into Harry, who faltered a little. Everyone else flinched at the mention of the name. “Didn’t stop him from pushing a pure-blood agenda. Don’t judge somebody by their blood status, Potter. You might find yourself with more enemies than friends.”

Ginny bit her lip. This was getting more complicated than she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

_ Two years ago _

**_THE HOWLER_ **

**_Reliable, unbiased, timely news, not sensationalist screaming_ **

**_The Hippocrates Society: A Short Introduction_ **

_[begin transcript]_

**_Romilda Vane:_ ** _With year’s of back-to-back Healing discoveries, all of us have been wondering, what exactly is this Hippocrates Society? Where did they come from? What do they actually do? We at the Howler are proud to sit down today with none other than the witch responsible for the dragon pox cure herself, Ms Hermione Granger. _

_Our readers may know Ms Granger from our April issue on elf-rights. She is one of the foremost crusaders in our collective quest to foster equality within the wizarding world. We are very privileged to have her here._

**_Hermione Granger:_ ** _Pleasure’s all mine Romilda. At least I can trust you to not Quick Quotes everything I say._

 **_Romilda Vane:_ ** _No self-respecting journalist would use such an instrument. We prefer the Auto-Transcription Quill_

 **_HG:_ ** _As you should._

 **_RV:_ ** _Only a 0.000001% margin of error!_

 **_HG:_ ** _It’s been invaluable to my research, I’d highly recommend it_

 **_RV:_ ** _So Hermione, tell us, because our readers are curious. Who exactly are the Hippocrates Society? There’ve been a lot of rumours, some of them extremely wild_

 **_HG:_ ** _For the record, we are not the Hippogriff Society_

 **_RV:_ ** _Important distinction to make_

 **_HG:_ ** _The Hippocrates Society has been around for a very long time. We’re in the public eye now because of the Burdock Corporation…_

_[pause]_

**_RV:_ ** _Are you alright? Would you like some water? Tea?_

 **_HG:_ ** _I’m fine._

_[pause]_

**_HG:_ ** _A lot of well-renowned healers belonged to the organisation - Mungo Bonham himself was part of it. Our ethos is to heal anybody who needs it, no exceptions. We do the best we can to help and find cures for diseases that people have always thought were impossible_

 **_RV:_ ** _Like dragon pox_

 **_HG:_ ** _Yes, and of course, Luna Lovegood’s blood malediction cure - she’s absolutely brilliant, that was a very difficult potion to formulate - some would say impossible - but she’s gone and done it_

 **_RV:_ ** _I always thought she was a bit dotty in school but it goes to show you can’t judge anybody by appearances_

 **_HG:_ ** _You really can’t_

 **_RV:_ ** _So you’re a group of volunteers yes?_

 **_HG:_ ** _For the most part, yes. We do have a few Healers who provide an organisational structure of sorts. Helps the rest of us volunteers divide our work and have a team to report back to, so to speak, and of course we liaise with them to run our trials. We also have a benefactor who provides some financial assistance_

 **_RV:_ ** _Oooh, a mysterious benefactor? Are you at liberty to reveal who?_

 **_HG:_ ** _Not at all_

 **_RV:_ ** _Even though our readers have a right to know?_

 **_HG:_ ** _I think ‘right to know’ becomes complicated when you’re dealing with secure information, things that might be a little too risky to publicly reveal. It’s a matter of safety is all_

 **_RV:_ ** _Whose safety exactly? Yours or your benefactor’s - is the latter a person or an organisation?_

 **_HG:_ ** _I am not at liberty to say_

 **_RV:_ ** _Look I’m not attacking you or anything, I truly believe in your work, but given that a lot of the Society’s members have sold the cures to the Burdock Corporation which has prevented other wizards from further innovation —_

 **_HG:_ ** _These are sensitive spells and potions, not things anyone should be experimenting with on their own. Burdock’s formation in the eighties was backed by a number of long-term Ministry officials, including the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement —_

 **_RV:_ ** _Amelia Bones is behind this too?_

 **_HG:_ ** _You need to understand. Holding our cures in storage prevents the production of harmful offshoots and non-functional duplicates, at least until we understand the true effectiveness of these cures and we’ve had more experience replicating them over a long period of time. Take the blood malediction antidote for example. It’s unlikely that we’ll know if it’s a permanent antidote until we receive sufficient data from our patients a few years down the line. These things are precise and take a long time to perfect —_

 **_RV:_ ** _But you said previously that the Society’s ethos is to treat everybody, no matter what. What would you say then to accusations that St. Mungo’s and Burdock have inflated the prices so that many wizards are blocked off from access?_

 **_HG:_ ** _I may know their histories but I cannot comment on their practices. What I can say is that the Society exists to help everybody —_

 **_RV:_ ** _Again, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against you or the Society, I think you do very valuable work, but I fail to see how you and the rest of the Hippocrates volunteers can shrug off responsibility after selling your own cures for absurd amounts to an organisation that is now blocking access to these lifesaving spells and potions by slapping an impenetrable price tag on them. Did you have knowledge of their plans for your cure prior to agreeing to sell to them?_

 **_HG:_ ** _I’ve an engagement I’ve got to rush for, but I’m happy to resume this interview at a later date_

_[end transcript]_

* * *

**_We at the Howler will always support independent journalism free from institutional bias. Our work would not be possible without your valuable donations, keeping us in print and allowing us to distribute to those who cannot afford to pay. Support us for a minimum of 5 sickles per month, easily deposited into the pouch accompanying each delivery owl_ **


	9. Chapter 9

Ginny returned to the flat the next morning with a thick bundle of letters and some packages for Luna that she’d picked up from an unfriendly Xenophilius. She placed everything gingerly on a small wooden stool, the only surface in the house that seemed to have any space left, and waved a drowsy Robards off. 

“You should go to bed,” she said. Robards muttered something unintelligible, rubbing his sleep-reddened eyes before walking outside and Disapparating. 

Though Robards had signed off in person, Ginny cast a quick _Hominem Revelio_ to check if anybody else was in the flat. Moody’s magical eye kept spinning in her mind. She’d been looking over her shoulder ever since leaving Tonks’ flat, jumping at sudden noises. Logically, Ginny knew that the Fidelius meant that you needed the address from the Secret Keeper to infiltrate the dwelling, but after last night, she was more paranoid than usual. She’d even written a fake address on a piece of parchment in case someone tried to hex it out of her. It wouldn’t hold up if she was ambushed by someone who knew better, but she figured it would be enough to give herself a chance to escape and warn someone.

Satisfied that there were no intruders, Ginny went into the kitchen to make herself some tea, relieved that she wouldn’t have to face Luna. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Her thoughts were turbulent, circling around Luna’s potential culpability before screeching to a halt, unable to believe that Hermione could be capable of anything like that. 

_If Hermione isn’t guilty, why d’you think Luna is?_ After a few minutes of agonising, the spiral would start again. Ginny had turned that thought over in her head, once, twice, tenfold, but it yielded no definitive answers.

_I know Hermione. She’s my sister-in-law. She’s my friend. She’s a bit uptight but she’d never do anything like this._

_You know Luna too_ , the voice in her head argued. 

_I_ knew _Luna,_ Ginny insisted to herself. _I don’t know what’s changed in seven years. A lot can change in seven years. I’m proof. If you’d told me that I’d be an Auror today instead of still playing for the Harpies, I would’ve laughed and told you to sell that joke to Zonko’s._

Her other voice kept quiet, but that only made the circle of thoughts resume its path. She didn’t know where to lead her mind.

_You know where to go_ , her heart insisted, but Ginny trod on the feeling.

Luna emerged from her bedroom five minutes after Ginny got in, bleary-eyed with her hair straggly and flat at the back from sleeping on it. “Did someone cast _Hominem Revelio_?” she asked. 

“Yes I did,’ Ginny said, looking up from the kettle. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

Luna retreated into the bedroom with a little shiver. The door shut with a quiet thud and Ginny sighed, retrieving her own mail to read while she had her tea. Amidst the quiet rustling of the plants above and around her, her mind calmed. She knew it wasn’t right to jump to conclusions despite what she’d been told at dinner last night, but the fact remained that she’d already made her own judgement long before the case had been opened. If she’d had her way, she would’ve simply avoided Luna for the rest of her life. Impractical perhaps, but it would’ve avoided awkward conversations.

Now that they were in close quarters, Ginny realised she could try to get some answers, some understanding. She wouldn’t have thought it was necessary, but her mind wandered back to something Tonks had told her after a particularly vicious Auror training session.

_You have to keep an open mind_ , she’d said, while Ginny had spat out a mouthful of blood into the sink and stared at her bruised face in the spotted mirror. _You need to keep all your options open. You can’t afford to limit yourself to only the things you know. The solution to your case might be somewhere you’d never thought to look._

Ginny had thought that was an answer too old and wise for Tonks, who’d spent most of Ginny’s training cheerily pushing her through gruelling and fatalistic exercises while shouting encouragement from the sidelines. But even Ginny was old enough to know that Tonks had probably seen enough to consider that advice worth giving.

It was he middle of the afternoon when Luna emerged again, and Ginny was making a tall stack of sandwiches for the both of them. “Oh good,” she said. “Was just about to wake you. I made lunch.”

Luna ambled sleepily into the kitchen, putting her hair up in a sloppy bun and sticking her wand through it. “Thank you,” she yawned, staring at the sandwiches and rubbing her eyes.

“I also brought your mail,” Ginny said. “Picked it up from your house this morning. Your father sends his love.”

Luna nodded, still sleepy, fiddling with the knob on the stove to boil the water in the kettle. It clicked on after a few tries, long blue tendrils of fire licking the sides before Luna brought the flame down. Ginny took a couple of sandwiches and went into the sitting room, perching on an uncovered part of the couch. A rogue vine crept from the ceiling and tapped her shoulder. Ginny tore off a bit of her sandwich and held it up. The vine curled around the piece and retreated upwards, satisfied.

Luna pushed some of her things aside and settled down on the opposite end of the couch. Ginny froze, immediately feeling much too close to her even though there was a mountain of things between them; swathes of grey fabric that looked to be a pair of robes, a couple of leather-bound textbooks, some loose parchment, an oddly shaped brown stone, and a pair of old glasses with only one lens intact. Ginny eyed its spiky multicoloured frames as Luna summoned her mail towards her and began to read.

“You can try those on if you like,” Luna said, not looking up from the letter she was perusing.

“Sorry?” Ginny asked.

“The Spectrespecs.” Luna gestured towards the pink framed glasses. “You’ll see all the Wrackspurts around the flat. There are plenty of them about.”

Not entirely convinced, Ginny picked up the Spectrespecs and put them on. Half her vision was now psychedelic violet, though nothing else appeared in her line of sight. Whether it was the missing lens or the fact that Wrackspurts weren’t real was anybody’s guess.

Well. People had thought no one could cure a blood malediction either and Luna had done that anyway. Ginny squinted about for a bit, idly fiddling with the pendant on her necklace, but when nothing appeared for a whole minute, she took them off, only to have the Spectrespecs snatched out of her hands by another creeping vine.

“Oh look,” Luna said, now shaking open a three-day old edition of the _Daily Prophet_. “Colin Creevey’s inventing talking photographs.”

“Sorry?”

“Like portraits but… more accurate I suppose,” Luna said. “The Prophet’s been letting him publish them on a trial basis as long as he gets all his other work in with them on time.”

“What do you mean, talking photographs?” Ginny asked, leaning over as well as she could without upsetting the pile of things between them. Luna smoothed out the crease in the page, leaning close enough for their shoulders to brush against each other and Ginny flinched, moving away with a racing heart. 

The front page was a picture of Scrimgeour speaking about the anti-Muggle attacks, but before either one of them could prepare, his voice filled the room in a roar reminiscent of a particularly ferocious Howler.

“— ATTACKS ARE NOT A MATTER OF SERIOUS CONCERN. HOWEVER WE URGE THE WIZARDING COMMUNITY TO BE VIGILANT AND TO ASSIST MUGGLES AND MUGGLE-BORNS WHENEVER NECESSARY. WE ARE NOT IN A STATE OF WAR —”

“ _Silencio_!” Luna yelped, and Scrimgeour fell silent, though his mouth was still moving. Ginny blinked slowly, trying to adjust to the sudden, almost painful quiet that descended upon them.

“Guess Creevey has his work cut out for him,” she muttered, wondering if the ringing in her ears would pass. 

“He did mention he was having a bit of trouble,” Luna said.

Ginny grimaced. “I’ll be surprised if they keep letting him publish these photographs.”

Luna picked up another letter and beamed when she saw the sender’s name scrawled in green ink on rough brown parchment. “Oh Nirmal’s written!” she exclaimed.

“Who’s Nirmal?” Ginny asked before she could stop herself. 

“He’s the wizard that helped me,’ Luna said, skimming through the letter. “He helped me understand the Seychellois environment while I was there. That’s how I found the last ingredient for the blood malediction antidote.” She sighed happily. “Oh, he seems to be doing well, I’m so pleased.”

An odd sort of clenching feeling grew in Ginny’s throat and stomach. The reality of how much of Luna’s life she’d missed was becoming painfully apparent. She tried to squash it down, tried to leave the matter alone, but her tongue worked faster than her brain. 

“How long did you know him for?” she asked. Luna hummed in thought.

“The whole time I was there,” she said. “Seven months or so. I stayed in the Seychelles the longest out of every other country. Nirmal was extremely helpful - he’s very well acquainted with Muggles you know? Has what they call a _doctorate_. He showed me the coconut crab. Muggles think it’s a mundane animal and they hunt it for its meat but it’s actually extremely fascinating —”

As Luna spoke, her very aura seemed to shift. Ginny didn’t know if it was a trick of the light, or if she was inhaling some strange pollen from one of the flowers, but she could’ve sworn that Luna was glowing with excitement. Her pale grey eyes shone and her smile made Ginny’s heart shatter into shards that pricked every bare inch of her. 

How could she even think for a _second_ that Luna would deliberately do anything harmful?

“See, the thing is…” Luna said, shifting and causing half the things on the couch to fall on the floor. Ginny reached to pick them up but Luna waved her wand and piled it into another corner of the room.

With nothing between them now, there was still a good six to ten inches of distance between their bodies, but for Ginny, having no barrier felt too intimate, especially when Luna shifted slightly closer. She stilled, her thoughts frazzled and spitting in her head like water in a frying pan. Nothing was landing right, nothing made sense, and she could barely keep herself together.

“Everybody thinks magical creatures have no real intelligence,” Luna said, clearly not noticing Ginny having a complete crisis next to her. “But just because their cognition isn’t recognisable by human standards doesn’t mean they’re not capable. Coconut crabs have a very precise sort of intelligence. If a Muggle attacks, they might use their pincers to defend themselves but they never use their venom. If a wizard comes along, they can absolutely tell. Muggles think they’re not poisonous, but they’re actually only poisonous to wizards.”

“Oh,” Ginny said. “Can’t all magical creatures tell Muggles and wizards apart?”

“Well, not all of them,” Luna said contemplatively, glancing at the ceiling where the vines danced around the enchanted stars. “Even if they can, most of them don’t care to behave differently. Like gnomes.”

“Ah yeah,” Ginny chuckled. “Gnomes don’t really give a shit.”

Luna’s answering nod was enthusiastic, making her dirigible plum earrings swing from her earlobes. “The world is so exciting. There’s always something new to discover as long as you keep your eyes open.”

“Mmm,” Ginny nodded, while Luna returned to the letter. It was almost eleven inches long, and she settled into the couch to read it, her head bumping against Ginny’s torso.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, engrossed, but not moving. Ginny thought to shift but then thought better of it and stayed exactly where she was. This only made Luna shift more, shoving things onto the floor until her head was properly in Ginny’s lap and her feet dangling off the arm of the couch.

The speed at which Ginny was transported back to her Hogwarts days was unprecedented. In a flash, it was just them in the quiet clearing in the Forest, staring at the endless ceiling of trees and speculating lazily about vague futures that never coalesced into anything tangible. They’d sit there for hours sometimes, magicking bubbles or some other ethereal thing out of their wands for entertainment while exploring every exposed inch of each other’s bodies - wrists, ankles, cheeks - and coming so close to a kiss…

Luna sighed and ran her finger over the letter, and Ginny watched the words transform into green-inked illustrations of a gigantic crab crawling leisurely over the trunk of a coconut palm. 

“That’s a bloody huge crab,” Ginny said. Luna hummed in agreement.

“Could you stroke my hair?” she asked. “I think I can feel a headache coming on.”

Ginny knew she should resist. Not just because of her conflicting feelings about Luna, but because this was a fucking assignment of all things, and she should be sitting vigilant instead of playing house with the person she was meant to be protecting. Was her wand even within reach? Or was it squashed between the pocket by her thigh and the arm of the couch? If someone broke in, she wouldn’t be able to get to it in time. The couch was right in view of the front door. They’d both be dead before they could blink.

But when Luna sighed again, Ginny’s fingers fell to her soft blonde locks without hesitation. As she brushed gently through her scalp, her heart began to unfurl ever so slowly, falling into a space that felt like home.

The kettle whistled. Luna looked up, but Ginny patted her head. “I’ve got it,” she said, slipping off the couch to make them both some tea.


	10. Chapter 10

Ginny was summoned back to the Ministry well before her next day off, finding out when Robards banged on the front door of the flat and startled her out of bed. She’d stumbled into the sitting room in her t-shirt and boxers, wand ready with a hex when she realised what was going on.

With Robards situated and staring at the leafy ceiling as though he’d never get used to it, Ginny slipped a note under Luna’s bedroom door before leaving the flat and Apparating to the Ministry to find Tonks.

The only people in the Auror Office was a desk officer who cleared his throat every five seconds, and a group of three field officers procrastinating on their reports by playing Exploding Snap in a corner. The temperature was finally bearable; seemed like Magical Maintenance had finally gotten the raise. Ginny wondered how hot it had gotten before Fudge had given in.

Tonks was standing by Ginny’s desk with a grin when she reached. “Wotcher,” she said. “Alright?”

“Mmm,” Ginny said, dropping into her chair and putting her feet up on the desk. Tonks grabbed a nearby chair and straddled it.

“Need a favour,” she said, speaking unusually loudly and flicking a piece of parchment in her direction. Ginny unfolded it, but Tonks was still talking. “Fleur needs some books picked up from Flourish and Blotts, and she’s got a mead delivery from the Three Broomsticks waiting for her at the Leaky.”

Ginny frowned, glancing up from the parchment which was confusingly blank, but Tonks gestured back to it and kept going. “Could you pick them up for me please?” she said. “I’m swamped with paperwork today.”

Ginny’s frown deepend, but Tonks winked in response, her hand twitching in the pocket of her robes.

A precise and bold print that Ginny had never seen before curled its way across parchment.

_There are some packages of a sensitive nature that require quick and discreet collection. At Flourish and Blotts, ask for the second edition of Slinkhard Manual for Defensive Charms, on hold for Mr Featherby Winestone. At the Leaky Cauldron, ask for Rosemerta’s mead, delivery for Fleur Delacour. You will not have to provide further details. Please hand them over to Aurors Tonks or Shacklebolt upon your return to the Ministry._

“I dunno,” Ginny said loudly, folding the parchment tight and putting it in the breast pocket of her robes. “Pretty busy myself this morning. Plenty of paperwork from the Johnson case that I haven’t filed yet.” 

“I’ll write one of your reports for you, how’s that?” Tonks said. “I’m desperate. Fleur’ll have my neck if I don’t bring them in today.”

Ginny grinned and stood up, clapping Tonks on the shoulder. “I suppose we can’t afford to lose you prematurely,’ she said before lowering her voice. “I’ll tell Fleur you’ve been assassinating her character in the office,” she whispered. Tonks rolled her eyes and Ginny laughed. “Tell her I said hi won’t you? I miss you two.”

“You should come around soon,” Tonks whispered. “When our days off align. We’d love to have you over properly.”

Ginny snorted. “It better be real,” she said. 

Tonks winked at her and blew her a kiss as she walked off. “You’re the best!” she called.

“So I’ve heard,” Ginny smirked, walking out of the office.

* * *

Ginny stopped by the Leaky Cauldron first. Tom the barman was quick about his delivery and Ginny made a bit of a show of telling him about Tonks and Fleur hosting a party before hightailing it out of the pub. The bottles tinkled underneath her robes, but Ginny knew what Madam Rosmerta’s oak matured mead was like. These looked roughly the same size but felt significantly lighter and flimsier.

Diagon Alley wasn’t too crowded but Ginny still had to weave through a throng of people gathered in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies. There was a breeze that teetered on the edge of turning frosty but wasn’t quite so biting as it would be in a month. She pushed past the crowd and squeezed her way out onto the next street. Campaign posters glimmered and flashed from shop windows; Fudge’s garish green and purple, Madam Bones’ distinguished navy, and the much more unknown Peter Tuttle’s tiny orange ones. She turned the corner that led to Flourish and Blotts and sped up.

Tiny silver bells tinkled a welcoming chime as Ginny stepped in, walking straight up to the counter, ignoring the towers of books surrounding her. The shop was warm and bright, but the smell of parchment reminded her of her Hogwarts days. There was an ink-repelling book demonstrating itself in a glass box; a bottle of ink spilled itself onto the pages before refilling and repeating the process over and over. A rogue Monster Book of Monsters snapped around her feet; Ginny dodged it before it was caught by a harried shop assistant.

She managed to get to the counter without any mishaps but tapped her Auror badge with her wand to hide it from view. “Hello,” she said to the shopkeeper behind the counter. “I’m here to pick up the second edition of Slinkhard’s Manual for Mr Featherby Winestone please.”

The man studied her through his bottle-thick glasses, peering at her robes before nodding and retreating to the back. Ginny leaned over the counter to wait when a familiar smell of violets wafted by. 

Romilda Vane appeared within her line of sight, with a smile that looked too hungry for polite company. Ginny supposed her own smirk must not have looked much better. 

“Weasley,” she said, looking Ginny over as though she was a particularly delicious piece of roast meat. “Nice to see you after your quick escape on Sunday.”

“That was _so_ many Sundays ago Ro,” Ginny said. Romilda eyed her underneath dark lashes. They’d met six months ago at The Ruby Red, a tiny little lesbian bar in Diagon Alley. It hadn’t been much at all to start with, just a tipsy conversation and a shag in the back, but now they had a simple arrangement going. No strings, only sex, and breakfast very rarely. It was uncomplicated and unattached on both ends, easy because they both wanted something casual. Romilda was honest and straightforward, and Ginny enjoyed the nights they spent together. 

At Hogwarts, Romilda had been prone to gossip, too sharp and inquisitive, bold and careless, but those traits had lent themselves brilliantly to _The Howler_ , the publication she wrote for. It was the only paper in Britain worth a knut in Ginny’s opinion, since the _Prophet_ was all but Cornelius Fudge’s daily newsletter. Working for _The Howler_ was a risky job, but Romilda had never been one to shy away from danger. It’s what Ginny liked most about her.

“What brings you here?” Romilda said, brushing her curly dark hair back. “Didn’t think you were much of a book person.”

“Excuse me,” Ginny scoffed. “I read.”

“What’s the last thing you read?” Romilda asked.

Truthfully, that had been the note that was still tightly folded in Ginny’s pocket but she couldn’t mention that. “Winogrand's Wondrous Water Plants,” she said without thinking. Luna had left it lying about a couple of days ago after using it for reference and Ginny had skimmed a chapter. Romilda raised a well-plucked eyebrow and Ginny shrugged. “It’s more interesting than the title sounds.”

“Mmhm,” Romilda said, as the old wizard tottered back to Ginny and handed her a thick book with a gleaming cover. Romilda glanced at it and frowned.

“ _Slinkhard’s_ Manual?” she said. “You’re an Auror. Why d’you need to know about magical theory?”

Ginny shrugged again. “Sometimes you need to know what a spell’s all about.”

“Huh,” Romilda said but didn’t press, much to Ginny’s relief. With a polite thank you, she stowed her book away under her robes. Romilda followed her. The bells tinkled goodbye above their heads when they walked out. Once the street, a torn _Vote Fudge_ flyer rolled over Ginny’s feet. There was a moustache scribbled over Fudge’s face in splotchy black ink.

“Are you in a hurry?” Romilda asked. Ginny chuckled.

“Wish I wasn’t,” she said. “There were a couple of shelves back there that I could’ve pushed you up against without anyone noticing.”

Even though Romilda was rarely flustered by anything, her golden brown cheeks reddened. Ginny laughed loudly and Romilda glared at her.

“Very funny.”

“I know you wanted it for a second there.” Ginny waggled her brows. Romilda sighed, but a moment later, her expression was composed into something more thoughtful. Ginny didn’t like that look. It was the look that always came before a question she didn’t want to answer.

“How’s work?”

“Still confidential,” Ginny said. Her palms started to sweat and she wiped them on her robes. “And it’s always going to be unless we decide to speak to the press.”

“So decide,” Romilda said, but Ginny shook her head.

“It’s sensitive information.”

Romilda huffed. “That’s the standard office answer Ginny, come on.”

“I can’t give you more than the standard answer,” Ginny said. “Look, this stuff’s confidential for a reason.”

“The reason being?”

“That we don’t want to tip off the perpetrators to what we’re doing,” Ginny said, heart racing as she tried to keep steady. “I know people are worried, but it’s for their own good.”

“People need to know why these things are happening!” Romilda exploded, and Ginny bit her lip. “Look, between the Aurors off on so-called ‘secret missions’ half the time and Fudge dodging questions and making things up for the _Prophet_ , I’m surprised people aren’t rioting in the Ministry Atrium. Six Muggles attacked in the last three weeks, and one of them was the parent of a Muggle-born, Gin! You can’t tell me that the public doesn’t at least deserve to understand why this is happening.”

Ginny sighed. “I understand —”

“Do you?” Romilda snapped. “Because none of you have said a single word about any of this, even when asked, and Merlin knows I’ve asked you enough. Not _everything_ you do in that bloody department can be confidential can it?”

Ginny grew cold. “Is that why you’re shagging me?” she asked quietly. “Because you’re trying to get me to talk?”

Romilda’s face froze in shock. “What - Ginny no, how can you even _think_ —”

“You spun the implication. Don’t blame me for reading what you put out.”

Romilda stopped right in front of the crowd at Quality Quidditch Supplies and gave Ginny such a harsh look that would’ve put some of Luna’s colder expressions to shame.

“Just because some bitch on the Harpies fucked you over doesn’t mean the rest of us are out to get you,” she said coldly. “Me thinking that you owe the public essential information about their own safety and about the truth has absolutely no bearing on us shagging. I have ethics.”

“And so do I,” Ginny said, crossing her arms, furious that Romilda had brought up Giselle. It had slipped out in the lull before dawn, on a wine-soaked tongue in a sleep choked voice. Something about how Giselle had wrecked Ginny’s abilities to trust anyone, even herself. 

Romilda glared at her. “Oh you have ethics do you?”

“I’m not about to spill department secrets and cause public panic just so you can sell a few more copies of a dying paper!”

Romilda looked so offended that Ginny thought she’d hex her and be done with it, but she turned heel and stormed off without a word. Scowling furiously, Ginny pushed her way through the crowd, but somebody saw her face and gasped.

“It’s her!”

“Ginny Weasley, she’s here!”

“It’s Red Lightning!” 

“Are you signing your posters? Are you giving out signed posters?”

“GINNY WEASLEY IS GIVING OUT SIGNED POSTERS!”

“Shit,” Ginny muttered, spotting the DDCT poster up on the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Her freckled face grinned at the crowd, short red hair spiked up because the photographer had thought it gave her a bit of a rakish quality. Ginny had appreciated the windswept look at the time but now it just looked stupid. 

All of this was stupid. The Harpies, Giselle, her quitting, this assignment, everything. Everything was a disaster.

The crowd began to surge towards her, but she stumbled out and managed to Disapparate just in time. She arrived at the Ministry and fell right on top of her father who looked extremely alarmed to have someone Apparate on top of him.

“Merlin’s beard! I - Ginny?”

Ginny didn’t know whether it was the shock of Apparating onto him or the fight with Romilda, or just the week she’d been having, but she fell into her father’s arms and started to cry. 

Arthur said nothing back. He just held her tight, stroking her hair until her body stopped shaking with the force of the sobs she was holding in. 

“It’ll be alright, my dear,” he murmured, but Ginny felt like it would all be anything but.


	11. Chapter 11

Ginny was in a horrid mood when she got back to the office, but Tonks wouldn’t let her return to the flat. 

“No,” she said, holding her back with one hand when Ginny pushed past her to leave. “I won’t have you going back and taking it out on Lovegood.”

Ginny growled. “I won’t take it out on —”

Tonks raised an eyebrow. Ginny shook herself out of her grip and huffed. “Aren’t you supposed to be giving Padma the day off?” she snapped. “Why’re you still here?”

“Because I had to come back for what you picked up,” Tonks said, as someone sprinted past holding a large wooden box with green smoke billowing from underneath the lid. She glanced at the clock at the far end of the office before fixing her eyes on Ginny again.

“I have about five minutes before Bones gets off her lunch break,” she said. “Want to tell me what happened?”

Ginny clenched her fists and scowled, seized by a sudden, desperate wish to fly out of the nearest window on her Firebolt. It had been ages since she’d actually flown around for something other than an Auror test.

“Don’t really wanna talk about it right now,” she muttered, swatting at a memo that flew too close to her head. 

“That’s fair,” Tonks said. “Take a walk or something, alright? Hang in there.”

She squeezed Ginny’s shoulder and walked towards the executive offices. Ginny waited for her to disappear into the corridor before leaving. Not for the first time since joining the Ministry, she found herself wishing she hadn’t been so hasty about quitting the Harpies.

There had been plenty of alternatives. She could’ve waited out her suspension, transferred to a different team, or stayed with the Harpies and learned to work with Giselle again. She could’ve even played overseas - it wasn’t like she was wanting for recruiters. Now she needed a flight permit to use her broom and the agonising slowness of being grounded was infuriating. She missed the wind in her hair, the thrill of the chase, of dodging a particularly ferocious Bludger, or even hanging off her broom for the heck of it. If she’d just waited a month or two to think it through…

Ginny huffed and tried to put it out of her mind as she waited for the lift to reach her floor.

A rather dispirited walk later, she Apparated back to the flat and said goodbye to Robards, flopping onto the couch with a groan. Luna came out of her room at the sound.

“Oh hello,” she said. “Has Robards left?”

“Yeah,” Ginny sighed, the weight of her limbs dragging her lower. “I’ll be out of your hair in a bit, don’t worry.”

“Oh no please stay,” Luna said. “Would you like some tea? I was about to make lunch though, so if you’d rather —”

“Lunch sounds good,” Ginny said, head lolling over her chest. She felt like she never wanted to stand up again. Luna smiled and headed into the kitchen. 

“It’s sad that Gawain left without saying goodbye,” she said. “We were having a very enlightening conversation before you got back.

“Oh?” Ginny perked up a little. “What about?”

“The concept of mortal peril,” Luna said. “Gawain doesn’t believe that you really understand yourself unless you’ve faced it, but he says that most people perceive mortal peril to be when they’re facing death.”

“Isn’t that what it is?” Ginny said, thinking of her mother’s clock. 

“Yes - if you’re taking it completely literally.”

“As you should I’d think.”

“He doesn’t think so,” Luna said thoughtfully, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. “It really was an interesting perspective - he said that a moment of mortal peril can be defined by a second in which your way of life is completely at risk. You’re going to lose something very important to you - money, family, work, something that makes you, _you —_ ”

 _Well then, I’ve been in mortal peril before_ , Ginny thought.

“Or you’re facing great change at a great cost,” Luna continued. “When you’re in that sort of position, the decisions you make next will define you, maybe for the rest of your life. Do you run from what’s right? Do you turn away from the hard choice? Do you turn and tuck your head between your legs and admit defeat, or do you stay and fight?’ A tiny furrow dug through her brow. “And what of after? When you’ve chosen and your life has still changed - or if you’ve made a decision to keep things as they are, but the cost is unbearable? How do you structure your life after that?”

“That…” Ginny said. “Is a very deep conversation for before noon.” She shrugged off her robes and sagging into the couch again. Underneath, she was wearing jeans and a green jumper, courtesy of Molly. Luna smiled at her.

“And that’s a very sad looking position for somebody who only went on an errand,” she said, heading into the kitchen and taking out some vegetables from the Muggle freezing cabinet - a ‘fridge’, Ginny had learned it was called. It had been enchanted to stay cold because the electricity in the flat didn’t work with all the wards up.

Taking out a knife, Luna began to peel the carrots by hand. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did you meet someone you didn’t like?”

With what felt like inhuman effort, Ginny hauled herself off the couch to stand closer to Luna. She leaned against one of the kitchen counters, arms crossed. “Why aren’t you using magic to get that done?” she said instead.

“I asked you my question first,” Luna said, giving Ginny a smile that was almost coy. Ginny gulped, rubbing the back of her neck, now prickling with embarrassment. Her scalp felt awfully warm underneath the short hairs at the back of her head. She knew her whole face must be flushed too.

“Running errands was annoying,” Ginny said, but before she could open her mouth to reroute the question back to Luna —

“Ginevra.”

Ginny’s heart slowed as Luna’s gaze locked on hers, her eyes large and concerned. Somehow, it felt a little safer to spill the matter to Luna than it did to Tonks, but speaking her heart was still a heavy thing. She took a breath and stared at the leafy ceiling. An orb of light peeked through, something Luna must’ve enchanted probably. 

“Fine,” she sighed. “I had a bit of a spat with Romilda.”

Luna looked interested. “Romilda Vane? From the year below us?”

“Yup.”

“Oh I _love_ The Howler. She writes some brilliant stuff!” Luna said with a smile. “D’you not like her? Is that why you argued?”

“No, she…” Ginny bit her lip, not knowing how far to extrapolate, though it felt like Luna would reel the answer out of her anyhow.

“She and I - we’re sort of shagging,” she started, appending her words with some vague hand gestures. Luna raised an eyebrow.

“ _Sort_ of shagging? Do you mean you’re only half doing it?”

Ginny turned even redder. “No.”

“Is it only half satisfying then?”

“No!” Ginny exclaimed. “I mean, we meet up every now and again to… well…”

Luna looked much too amused, and Ginny had no idea why this was embarrassing at all. It wasn’t like she was ashamed of it, but she wasn’t used to talking about this side of her life with Luna.

Clearing her throat, she continued. “Yeah. Bumped into her while I was running my errands. She asked me what the department is up to - you know,” she said, gesturing non-committedly. “This case with you and the Society.”

“Oh I see,” Luna said. “Did she want details?”

“Yes,” Ginny said. “And I said it was confidential and she wasn’t having it. Said we owed the public that information.”

“You do,” Luna said, and Ginny’s heart dropped for a moment. “But I think you also have a responsibility not to cause public panic.”

Ginny fist pumped into the air. “ _Thank you_!”

Luna’s smile was replaced by a tiny frown again. “I do wonder when would be the right time for the Auror Office to tell everybody though,” she said, pausing over her carrot.

“When we’re through with the case,” Ginny said. “There’s usually a press briefing after these things.”

“Mostly for the Prophet I’d reckon,” Luna said, resuming her peeling. Ginny shrugged.

“It’s open to all journalists,” she said, recalling the fight and wincing. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t have told her that her paper was dying.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “Ginevra!” she exclaimed. Ginny put her hands up with a grimace.

“She’d pissed me off! I wasn’t thinking.”

“The Howler’s _nowhere_ close to dying! They’re just self-funded that’s all.”

“Yeah, well,” Ginny said, and Luna tutted and continued with the food. “Your turn to answer,” Ginny said. “Why’re you not using magic? D’you need help?”

Luna chuckled. “I’d love some help, but I’d rather you didn’t use magic either.”

Ginny, who’d just been about to go get her wand, took a step back. “Why?”

Luna’s answering smile was so beautiful, it made Ginny feel dopey. Her own lips stretched in a stupid sort of grin. “When I was in Nepal,” Luna said, “I met a witch called Nisha. She was on the run.”

“Oh?” Ginny asked. “Who from?”

“The Indian Ministry of Magic,” Luna said with a mischievous smile. “She was living amongst Muggles, pretending to be one of them. I stumbled across her while looking for the South Asian variant of Gillyweed. I needed it to try to lure a Blibbering Humdinger that I’d spotted the day before, but Nisha found me and realised I was a witch and she hexed me.”

“What?” Ginny snarled, ready to jump to Luna’s defence even though the assailant in question was currently continents away. Luna made a dismissive gesture with the hand that was holding her knife, going dangerously near Ginny’s nose.

“She thought I was an undercover tracker from the Indian Ministry,” she said. “But of course I wasn’t that at all, and we made very good friends with each other.”

A part of Ginny really wanted to ask how good of a _friend_ Nisha had been, but she trod on that urge. 

“Nisha’d broken the Statute,” Luna continued, now chopping the carrots haphazardly. “She was helping a Muggle village ward off an infestation of Lethifolds, but they all saw her use her Patronus and started revering her as a sacred figure. The Ministry was alerted and she fled to Nepal. She’d been living amongst the Muggles and not using magic at all when I met her. Except when she hexed me of course.”

“Of course,” Ginny muttered.

“But she had to make sure she didn’t use any in her daily life if she wanted to avoid getting caught,” Luna said. “I learned to do a lot of things the Muggle way. It was very satisfying.”

“So she’s never going to use magic again?” Ginny asked in a hushed voice. She couldn’t think of anything worse. Luna shook her head.

“Oh, eventually I suppose she might,” she said. “But the Indian Ministry is so much stricter about breaking the Statute than we are because a lot of wizards have taken advantage of Muggles using magic. Pretending to be able to heal things when they can't or showing off a few tricks here and there. It’s quite cruel, especially when they target really vulnerable people and make them part with their gold. Things like family heirlooms or wedding jewellery, you know?”

“Oh,” Ginny said. “That’s awful.”

“The new Minister is very invested in Muggle welfare,” Luna said. “So the Ministry can get a bit vicious with their punishments for people who exploit Muggles.”

“But your friend wasn’t exploiting anybody,” Ginny said. Luna nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “But she didn’t have another magical person to speak up in her defence. The villagers knew she had magic, and that was already bad enough. She couldn’t prove she was trying to save them, so she left.”

“Didn’t she have family? Anybody?”

Luna smiled widely, reaching for an onion and skinning it. “You know,” she said. “I’ve a few things I need to pick up for an experiment I’m working on. Can I go out with you tomorrow?”

Ginny balked. “Absolutely not,” she said, forgetting that Luna had changed the subject. “I can’t risk taking you outside. If you give me a list —”

“You wouldn’t know the first thing to do with it,” Luna said calmly. “Some of the apothecaries are hidden.”

“All the more reason why you shouldn’t,” Ginny said. Luna’s eyes were slowly losing their serenity. Ginny hated it when her gaze turned stormy like this, but there was nothing she could do.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here for,” Luna said. The temperature of the room seemed to drop a few degrees, the plants rustling anxiously at the tone of her voice. “I have to do something with my time, otherwise I’ll lose my mind. You can go out once a week, get away from this place and pretend like your life’s still normal, but I’ve been cut off from my family, my friends, my work, everything. I have to lie in all my letters. I haven’t been outside in almost two weeks.”

Her rant cut off almost as abruptly as it began. Ginny bit her lip, not knowing what to say. She could very easily say no and that would be the end of that, but she couldn’t imagine the state of their relationship afterwards.

They weren’t friends. Maybe they were once, but not anymore. Luna’s safety was her responsibility, but —

“I need to go,” Luna said.

“Please just tell me what to get,” Ginny said. “Or give me a list that I can pass to someone else. Maybe they can do it for you, or —”

“I told you,” Luna said frostily. “You wouldn’t know the first thing to do with it. The apothecaries are hidden.”

Ginny huffed in irritation. “You could send a letter to someone —”

“I’d rather get it done by myself, thank you.”

A crackling sense of foreboding rose up her spine but she tried to ignore it. Luna nodded.

“Thank you,” she said, turning back to the onion. The skins crackled underneath her fingers and she tossed them aside before pushing the knife through the middle. Sensing that she wouldn’t speak any more, Ginny picked up another knife and began to assist.


	12. Chapter 12

**_THE HOWLER_ **

**_Reliable, unbiased, timely news, not sensationalist screaming_ **

**_The Mystery of the Hippocrates Six_ **

**_Opinion: Romilda Vane_ **

_ In Which The Department Of Magical Law Enforcement Evades Any Sort Of Public Accountability Regarding The Attacks On The Hippocrates Six. _

_Does this sound like the beginning of a long-winded story to you? One of those stories that trail off into nothing substantial? I just want to be doing as good a job as the DMLE. All their representatives had to say about the Hippocrates case was “that’s sensitive information.”_

_I refuse to believe that keeping the public in the dark is the correct way of dealing with attacks on members of our society. Anti-Muggle attacks, while deplorable and objectionable, do not inspire the same fear as a crisis of this nature (and this is despite our best efforts over the years to educate our readers on the dangers of letting anti-Muggle sentiments run unchecked. Please consider purchasing last month’s special edition, which contains a short primer on a history of Muggle and Muggleborn persecution in wizarding Britain, as well as interviews and longer articles by preeminent magical historians)._

_(To those of you who’ve owled me to say that we shouldn’t waste time or resources prosecuting anti-Muggle attacks, I can send you some real Howlers for your taste)_

_Nonetheless, I must acknowledge that we are now living in times of growing uncertainty. I have had friends and family ask me, if it’s the Hippocrates Six today, who next? While I understand that the Auror Office will be unable to provide all information to the public for fear of tipping off any probable assailants, I am firmly of the opinion that they need to be more open about what’s happening. Reports from around Britain have noted that the Six have vanished from their homes in recent weeks. Where are they? Under DMLE protection? Or did their assailants return to finish them off? The Ministry owes the public that much, if only to assuage our troubled minds._

* * *

**_We at the Howler will always support independent journalism free from institutional bias. Our work would not be possible without your valuable donations, keeping us in print and allowing us to distribute to those who cannot afford to pay. Support us for a minimum of 5 sickles per month, easily deposited into the pouch accompanying each delivery owl_ **


	13. Chapter 13

They went out the next morning, heavily disguised. Luna was now five inches taller, with a pointed little nose, hair in an ebony bob reminiscent of Pansy Parkinson, and brown eyes and freckles. Ginny had green hair in a French braid and was half her own size, marching along in boots and robes that had been shrunk to fit. 

As they trod through Diagon Alley, bundled up against the wind, Ginny began to worry that her spells might come undone. She’d done well enough on Concealment and Disguise, but, as Robards had said while looking through her marks, there was still room for improvement. One of her revision exercises with Tonks had gone terribly, with a seemingly solid disguise coming completely undone within ten minutes. She’d practiced obsessively since, but…

Luna peered around the Magical Menagerie while Ginny held onto her arm. They were posing as a couple so that Ginny could shield her with ease in case anyone leapt out, but even though they hadn’t run into any trouble, she was beginning to feel antsy. If someone attacked Luna, Ginny knew with absolute certainty that she could defend them both and take them back to the flat or another safe place, but if they were caught by someone in the department, she could be taken off the assignment and suspended.

“We’re here,” Luna said, tugging Ginny into the apothecary. “Would you like to wait outside?” 

“Absolutely not,” Ginny said, following Luna into the shop and heading towards the counter, but Luna slipped through a wall next to the front entrance and vanished from view. If Ginny hadn’t been holding her arm, she would’ve missed it. Swearing under her breath, she followed. Warm, dusty air washed over her, making her cough, and then they were in the next shop.

Softly glowing orbs floated overhead, illuminating the room a cheery sun-yellow to make up for the lack of windows. Shelf after shelf was filled with all manner of glittering jars. Ginny glanced at a sign, but it was written in runes. All of them were.

A short, dark-skinned witch came fluttering into the room from the back. She was dressed in bright red robes with a green hat askew on her head, big ebony curls tumbling out past her shoulders. Intelligent black eyes shone from a friendly round face.

“Hello dearies, can I help?”

“Hello,” Luna said. “I’m here for these, if you may be so kind.”

Procuring a piece of parchment from underneath her robes, she passed it over to the witch who peered at it closely while Ginny tried not to gawk. She knew the witch. Her name was Lucretia and she owned a lesbian sex club in the streets under Diagon Alley. Ginny hadn’t thought she’d have a second job considering how busy it got down there, but here she was, running a secret apothecary above ground. 

“We’re all out of angelica root I’m afraid,” Lucretia said with a tiny frown. “And our stocks of bilberry leaf are running low, but if you’re willing to pay a premium or wait three months…”

“I’ll pay,’ Luna said. “Do you think Martin’s has angelica root in stock?”

“You’ll have to check yourself,” Lucretia said, now pottering around the shop picking up jar after jar with practiced speed. She stacked about five in her arms without dropping a single one, placing them all in a row on the weathered wooden counter. “The Norwegian Ministry’s been having a spat with ours, so I’ve heard. They’re not too keen on bringing anything into Britain nowadays so it’s all being smuggled.” She put a finger to her lips and winked at them. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

As an Auror, it was Ginny’s job to report illegal trade, but she wasn’t about to start a fuss over potions ingredients.

 _That’s the sort of carelessness that gets good people in trouble_ , she could almost hear Scrimgeour say, but she tried not to chase the thought.

“Who’s your friend, Lovegood?” Lucretia asked. Ginny’s eyes almost bulged out of her head, but before she could even think to worry, Luna laughed, loud and amused. It was the first real laugh Ginny had heard her give in a while. 

“Unmasking charm,” Lucretia said by way of explanation. “Your spell’s holding up quite well. You’re only shimmering at the edges.”

“Then how’d you know it was me?” Luna asked, while Ginny tried to fix their disguises. Lucretia grinned.

“Darling I’d know you even if you were Polyjuiced,” she said, wrapping up one of the small vials in brown paper and tapping her wand to seal it. “Aren’t you meant to be hidden away somewhere?”

“Aren’t I hidden away?” Luna said with a smile. “Plain sight is the best place to hide something.”

“Indeed,” Lucretia said, packing all of Luna’s ingredients in a neat bundle, smile fading. “Look,” she said, glancing from Luna to Ginny. “It’s not the safest for you to be outside right now, and your friend doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job with that wand of hers…”

“I’m trying,” Ginny growled. Lucretia nodded.

“A valiant effort I’m sure. But it matters to me that you keep Luna safe. I have some Polyjuice in the back. You’ll be able to run your errands in under an hour won’t you?”

“That’s more than enough time Lucretia, thank you,” Luna said. “But do you have any spare hairs on hand? Or do you plan to sweep the floor for luck? I’ve heard that using a hair that you’ve swept off the ground along with a bit of dust and lint can strengthen the Polyjuice and even have it last past —”

“You’re right about many weird things Lovegood,” Lucretia said. “But I’ve already told you, you need to be careful with what you put in a Polyjuice Potion. It’s not meant to be used for anything other than human transformation, and Merlin forbid you use what you find on the floor of an apothecary. I will not have you turning into a beetle because we’ve accidentally given you a shot with an antenna in it.”

“I’d quite like to be a beetle I think,” Luna said. “It would be a novel perspective to consider.” 

Lucretia chuckled before disappearing to the back. Luna took out her coin purse and counted out her payment, placing a small pile of Sickles on the countertop. Ginny sighed and removed their disguises, restoring their clothes to their own size and trying to squash the dread blossoming in her chest. It didn’t matter that her spell had held up for the most part. They’d already been exposed. Worse, they had to rely on a non-Auror to fix the problem. This warranted more than suspension. It was enough to have her demoted to desk work. Permanently. 

Lucretia returned with a small vial but stopped when she saw Ginny standing next to Luna. Her lips stretched in a smirk that was positively gleeful.

“Lovegood,” she said, looking Ginny up and down. “You didn’t tell me you’re pulling _Red Lightning_.”

Ginny turned bright red, burning underneath her collar. She tugged at it, flustered while Luna just grinned.

“Ginny and I are very good friends,” she said. “You know this.”

“So you’ve said,” Lucretia said, winking at Ginny. “You’ve never been down to the Cat have you?”

“Uh, not really,” Ginny said, shoving her hands in her pockets. Lucretia laughed and added one of her own hairs to the vial of Polyjuice. The potion hissed and turned a shade of electric violet.

“Oh, I’ll be you,” Luna said, taking the vial. “Will you be alright?”

“I’ll close shop for an hour,” Lucretia said. “I need a break anyway. If anybody tries to talk to you, pretend you’ve lost your voice. I’ll explain it away later.”

“If you’re sure,” Luna said, knocking it back. Ginny watched while Luna winced and contorted, and then there were two Lucretias standing in front of her.

“Nice,” Lucretia said, looking Luna over. “Here. Take my hat.”

“Thanks,” Luna said. “I definitely owe you.”

“Oh you never do, Lovegood,” Lucretia said, eyeing the money on the counter when Luna pocketed her ingredients. “You always overpay. At this rate, you could drop in and pick up a months’ supply for free.”

Luna hummed happily and gave Lucretia a hug. “I won’t be able to return the hat,” she said. 

“No problem. I nicked it anyway,” Lucretia said, now eyeing Ginny in a way that could only be described as lascivious. “And sweetheart,” she said. “If you ever feel like venturing beyond the Ruby, come on down and ask for me.”

“Er, alright, cool,” Ginny said. Lucretia flicked her wand. A piece of bright purple parchment appeared in the air in front of Ginny’s face and floated into her palm. The only thing on it was an illustration of a witch with cat ears and whiskers, but then she whipped a flogger across it and curly text illuminated the page.

**_Lucretia Agarwal_ **

**_Owner, The Cat O’ Nine Tails_ **

“Uh, thanks,” Ginny said, turning red and stowing it in her pocket. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Run along now,” Lucretia said, waving them out. “You’ll want to stop by Martin’s before Hayworth and Collins - and for Merlin’s sake, kick Martin for me. Bastard owes me fifty Galleons.”

With a final hug, Luna scurried out of the shop, dragging Ginny along. 

“Well that was great,” Ginny grumbled the minute they stepped onto the cobblestones. “Our disguises fall apart at the first instance. What a great Auror you have working with you Ms Lovegood.”

“Oh Ginevra, you know you’re the best,” Luna said with a bright smile as the sun emerged from behind a cloud. Ginny blinked, shielding her eyes, still following Luna through the cobblestone streets. She took Luna’s hand as they walked; it didn’t matter if it looked like she was holding Lucretia’s. There were worse things for people to gossip about.

The rest of the ingredients were much simpler to procure. Hayworth and Collins was another hidden apothecary, thankfully with no charms to detect disguises. Martin’s was in plain sight a few streets away from Flourish and Blotts, though Martin himself scurried into the back of his shop the moment he saw them approaching through the window, sending out a scrawny assistant to handle their purchases. 

With all the ingredients squared away, they walked out again, but when someone running past almost bumped into Luna and knocked her over, Ginny put an arm around her waist to stop her from falling.

“I’ve got you,” she said, but another witch from across the street whistled.

“Didn’t think you had it in you Lu!” she said with a bright grin. “Are you bringing her to the Cat on Friday then? She’ll watch your show?”

All Luna could do was smile and nod, and Ginny flushed harder. “What’s happening?’ she muttered.

“Oh Lu’s going to be very pleased,” Luna said.

“About?”

“Being seen out with you,” Luna murmured with a grin as they set off towards the Leaky Cauldron again. “She’s always thought you were fit. I agree of course, you always have been, but she’s never had the chance to meet you.”

“I see,” Ginny muttered, her voice small from embarrassment, and also shyness from Luna’s admission that she thought she was attractive. “That’s nice I suppose…”

“She always says…” Luna started, but her words were muffled under the growing shouts of the crowd they were walking towards. 

“What in Merlin’s name…” Ginny said, tugging Luna to the left to try to go around, but someone very close to them started shouting, shoving a sign up in the air.

“Down with the Hippocrates!”

“Hippocrates are hypocrites!”

“Antidotes for all! Antidotes for all!”

Ginny dodged someone who almost hit her in the face with a banner. Holding Luna close, she peered at the placard closest to her. It had Luna’s face on it, cut straight from the _Daily Prophet_ with a big red X over it. Other placards had different faces; Rolf Scamander, Hermione, everybody involved. They’d found themselves right in the middle of an anti-Hippocratic Society protest.

Ginny held back a gasp. She’d never seen a protest in Diagon Alley before, though this wasn’t unprecedented considering growing public agitation over the cost of certain antidotes over the past few years. 

“Come on,” she said, ducking through the crowd to get to the Leaky Cauldron as soon as possible. There was an alleyway right by the walled entrance to the pub where they could Disapparate, and Ginny intended on getting there as fast as possible. 

The crowd was thick and tight, and the sea of bodies was almost claustrophobic. It was amazing how many people were part of it. None of them had been there earlier that morning, but it felt like half of wizarding Britain had been conjured on the spot. Someone jostled them and Ginny held Luna close, but she heard a conversation between the wizards closest to them.

“Lovegood’s the worst of the lot,” he said to his friend. “She was the first to sell you know? The others just followed when they realised how much Burdock was willing to pay, but they wouldn’t have if she hadn’t started.”

“And her with the blood malediction antidote too.”

“Out for gold, all of them.”

“Born without a heart most like. Try to cure that first, why don’t you?”

“Come on,’ Ginny said, heart racing as she tried not to punch the nearest person. Instead, she rushed Luna right through the crowd into the street where the Leaky Cauldron stood. Ducking into the alleyway, she gripped Luna tight and Disapparated back to the flat.

“We’re safe now,” she said, taking her keys out with trembling hands, managing to get the key in the lock so she could usher Luna inside. Her ears were popping from the sudden quiet, but the shouts from the protest still echoed in her mind. She shut the door quickly, ushering Luna in as her heart thudded, refusing to slow down.

Luna hovered by the couch as Ginny went to the fridge to get them both some water. “You believe them, don’t you?” she said quietly.

“Them?” Ginny asked, one hand on the door handle as she looked at Luna over her shoulder.

“The protestors,” Luna said. “You think I sold my antidote for the gold too.”

It was strange to watch her, her expressions and tone so painfully Luna, but playing out on someone else’s face, in someone else’s voice. The trip had only taken about half an hour and there was still time for Luna to turn back to herself, but that didn’t make Ginny feel any less awful.

“Luna…”

“The way you treated me,” Luna said. “At the beginning when you picked me up. You were so cold. I thought maybe you had to be professional, but I realised it was more than that. You’re not like that with people unless you don’t like them.”

Ginny bit her lip. “Luna, I —”

“You know how I really knew?” Luna said. “You stopped writing me right after I sold it.”

With that, she swept into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.


	14. Chapter 14

It was a tense night.

Luna refused to come out of her room. No amount of knocking, calling, apologising or cajoling helped convince her. Having exhausted every option except barging inside, Ginny sat by the door, hoping to catch her if she came out, but fell into a fitful sleep sitting upright. Her nightmares wore Giselle’s face.

She woke up with a parched mouth and a tight, sore throat to see Luna hovering over her. There was no telling how long she’d been awake for. In the dull morning light and a long white t-shirt, she looked so beautiful that Ginny could’ve cried. But there was no friendliness in her face, no welcoming smile, even as she held out a glass of water.

“Here,” she said curtly. “I’ve made breakfast. I will be working on some of my potions today so I think it would be best if you stayed out of the sitting room after you’ve eaten.”

Ginny got to her feet, a dull ache spreading from her back to her hips. “Luna, I’m sorry,” she started, but Luna fixed her with a glare so cold it froze her in place. 

“Are you?” she said. “What are you sorry for?”

 _For not believing you_ , Ginny wanted to say, but she couldn’t say it when she was so muddled herself. Her faith in Luna had eroded over the years, partly from what she’d heard over the grapevine, partly from her sale of the antidote and from the intelligence she’d received at work, and also… 

As she wiped the sleep from her eyes, Ginny’s thoughts, as they so often did, returned to Giselle.

In the early days when Ginny and Luna were still writing each other multiple letters a week, Giselle had often offered commentary on their friendship. Commentary that, over time, grew tinged with a sort of snideness that Ginny couldn’t quite ignore. Giselle had been the first person to insinuate that Luna might’ve had feelings for Ginny, but Ginny had brushed it off. Sure they’d shared a strong, mutual affection, and Ginny had definitely loved Luna in a way that went deeper than what she felt for Giselle, but she’d taken that feeling for granted. Her love for Luna had transcended any known boundaries. It went beyond platonic, beyond romantic, to something everlasting, enduring, unbreakable. It felt so natural that she’d never thought to question it, never doubting it would shake and wither away.

She’d never thought that Luna had felt the same, so when Giselle brought it up, it was easy to dismiss. Giselle had also insinuated that Luna had only been curious perhaps, wanting to try what being with a girl was like without taking a real physical step, and Ginny had been available and convenient. 

That particular conversation had ended in a fight that had seen Ginny sleeping over at Fred and Angelina’s for a night. The Luna Matter, as she’d called it then, would crop up in fights every now and again, but the fact that Giselle had kept bringing her up had seemed completely illogical to her at the time. It occurred to her now that it must’ve been a sign she’d missed; the red flag signalling the breakdown.

Eventually, with the length between her and Luna’s letters growing longer, Ginny had become a little more susceptible, the worry burrowing like a parasite even as she’d fought it. Then Luna’s letters had stopped, and —

That was another thing Ginny was confused about. Luna had said that Ginny had stopped writing first but Ginny had written regularly for a long time. Luna had stopped replying before the first successful trial for her antidote, long before Ginny had given up. Ginny had initially assumed the letters had gotten lost along the way, but then she realised that they couldn’t have _all_ gotten lost.

Her thoughts rushed back to the present. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, taking a sip of water when the words scraped against her throat. “I - it’s hard for me to trust people.”

“I can see that,” Luna said. “But you didn’t used to be like that.”

Ginny shrugged. “Blame my ex,” she muttered, sipping some more water. “But you don’t deserve this. Any of this. I… I just… everything’s very overwhelming and I don’t quite know what to believe.”

She dropped to the couch and put the glass aside. Luna looked even more upset. 

“How could you have believed that I would’ve willingly sold something so valuable?” she said quietly. “You know how I am. You know the way I think. You’re one of the only people that do.”

Every word tore through an aching chunk of Ginny’s heart. Luna looked to be on the verge of tears. 

“They came for my father,” she said in a small voice. “They - I was back in London because I wanted to run some trials here, and of course I’d stay with him, but I was spending so much time at St. Mungo’s… I wasn’t home very much. When we found out that the trials had worked, he was the first person I wanted to tell.” She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “But I think Burdock had eyes on the team I was working with. He’d been badly cursed by the time I came home. I had to heal him myself. They wouldn’t let me Apparate to St. Mungo’s with him.” 

Ginny’s heart stilled. Luna’s tears spilled over but she stood straight-backed, as though willing herself not to crumble. 

“They made me sign everything over,” she said. “But after I did, I managed to hex a couple of them and drag my father away. We Apparated to the Burrow - it was closest - your mother helped me with him before I could take him to St. Mungo’s.” She shuddered, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “She stayed with me while he was healing. Brought me food every day.” 

Thick, cloying guilt filled Ginny’s throat. Molly had never mentioned it to them.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone else?” she asked. “Report it?” 

“The Burdock wizards were about to force me into an Unbreakable Vow to not tell anybody what had happened,” Luna said. “I barely managed to get away - I didn’t know what they’d do to me and my father if I told.” She cleared her throat. “I think some of the others weren’t so lucky.”

“And they didn’t come after you after that?” Ginny asked.

“We left to France immediately,” Luna said. “We went to the south for a while, and then down to Portugal, and then all the way down to Algeria. There was a Healer I knew there, he helped me with Daddy but he’s still not the same.”

Ginny thought about how brittle and broken Xenophilius looked as he passed on Luna’s mail every week.

“I left him in Algeria for a while,” Luna said. “I had to. I was afraid Burdock would track me down, so I travelled alone again for a year before coming back to take him home. Then we were attacked again.” She sniffed. “I think they tried to get those of us who hadn’t made the Vow. They know we’re loose ends. And now I’ve told you. You can tell your superiors, if it’ll help. If the case isn’t run by people who’re linked to Burdock anyway.”

She looked sceptical, but a sudden memory flooded Ginny’s mind.

Ron had been rushed to St. Mungo’s after an accident a few years ago. It had been right around the time Hermione had sold her dragon pox cure. His injuries had been serious and he’d hovered close to death for a few weeks before taking a turn for the better.

 _An experiment gone wrong in the house_ , Hermione had explained shakily. Ginny remembered how unhappy her mother had been. At the time, she’d thought it because Hermione had inadvertently gotten Ron injured, but she realised that her mother must’ve known, having seen it with Luna and Xenophilius.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” she asked. Luna’s gaze hardened.

“I thought you knew,” she said, wiping away the last of her tears. “I thought that’s why you’d had us all in safehouses. But I kept suspecting because you weren’t really yourself. And now I know.”

She wiped her eyes with her t-shirt and blew her nose. “I don’t know if the rest of them have told their Aurors,” she said. “I doubt they would. We don’t trust anybody to help. Burdock’s people are Ministry people. Who else can we ask?”

A difficult sort of quiet fell over the room. There was a lot for Ginny to process. She stared at the floor because staring at Luna made it difficult for her to do anything other than drown in her own guilt. Luna stood unmoving right in the middle of the room.

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said again. 

“For what?” Luna asked. Ginny looked up. 

“For compromising your safety yesterday.”

Luna chuckled. “It’s not your fault. I pushed. I shouldn’t have.”

“I shouldn’t have given in. I know better than to not.”

“Well you must not think me worth safeguarding if you would’ve risked putting me out like that,” Luna said. “Even if I had asked you.”

Ginny gulped. “You would’ve hated me otherwise.”

“I would’ve been very angry, yes,” Luna said. “But I doubt I would’ve hated you.”

“I promise I didn’t want to put you in danger,” Ginny said. “I should’ve been more careful - I felt so guilty having you cooped up in here. I thought the spells would hold. I thought I could keep you safe.”

Luna studied Ginny, who felt a little her very soul was being peered into. She tried not to recoil, but continued to hold Luna’s gaze till Luna spoke again.

“Do you like your job?” 

Ginny frowned, taken slightly aback. This was the last question she expected to receive.

“What?”

“Do you like your job?” Luna repeated. “Because if you liked it, if you really liked doing it and believed in it, you wouldn’t be careless. It’s not like you to be careless. Maybe a little reckless. But not like this.”

“I don’t know how much that has to do with me liking my job,” Ginny sighed, putting her head in her hands. “I think that everything I’ve been avoiding is finally catching up with me. Fucking up my magic and my sense.”

She pressed the flat of her palms into her eyes hard enough for stars to pop up in the blackness. Her brain was foggy, swampy, thoughts struggling through a gelatinous mass. Her back still ached from sitting on the floor, now blossoming in painful stars over her shoulder blades and all the way at the small of her back.

She felt the couch dip next to her, and then a warm pair of arms around her shoulders.

“Talk to me,” Luna whispered. Her voice felt like home. Ginny breathed in her smell, damp earth and lilies, and her heart lurched like she was about to cry.

“You shouldn’t be comforting me,” Ginny said. “I fucked up with you. I put your life in danger Luna, and I’ve gone and ruined our friendship too.” 

“I’ll have none of that guilt, thank you,” Luna said sternly, pulling Ginny’s hands away from her face. “Look, we’re both culpable. We were both stubborn, and we did what we shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you and pushed you to take me out when I knew it wasn’t safe outside. And you shouldn’t have given in. We’re even.”

Ginny looked at her. Luna still looked angry, still hurt, but there was a steely determination in her gaze, the kind that wouldn’t take no for an answer. Ginny remembered saying once that Luna was made of Ravenclaw brains and Hufflepuff loyalty, but she could see a lot of Gryffindor stubbornness in her now. Maybe being Ginny’s friend at Hogwarts had rubbed off on her in some unhelpful ways. 

“You deserve better friends than this,” she said.

“And I won’t have any of that self-pity either,” Luna snapped, dragging Ginny to her feet. She was surprisingly strong, and Ginny wobbled with the force of it. Luna steadied her, an arm snaking around her waist. “Come. Breakfast.”

Ginny let Luna yank her about the room and sit her down at the table where she shoved a plate of eggs and bacon under her nose. Ginny perked up at the smell, not realising how hungry she’d been. Wolfing down the eggs almost without breathing, she surfaced for air before taking a swig of orange juice. Luna had either already finished her breakfast or wasn’t hungry, but she was watching Ginny with a curious fascination. Finished with the eggs, Ginny began to scarf down the bacon. 

“This is very nice Luna, thank you,” she said between bites. “Aren’t you having anything?”

“Not right now,” Luna said, still watching. Ginny nodded, swallowing the rest of her bacon down in a way that was more reminiscent of Ron than anything else. Playing with the Harpies had gotten her accustomed to swallowing large amounts of food very quickly. Constant training had built up her appetite, something that hadn’t gone away since quitting the team. 

Her plate wiped sparkling clean, Ginny wiped her mouth with a paper napkin and began to sip the last of her orange juice slowly. ’I’ll clear out now,” she said. “You can have the room for your potions.”

“Thank you,” Luna said. Ginny took her dishes to the sink and cleaned them off with her wand before washing her hands and mouth, but when she turned to go back to her room, Luna was still staring at her.

“What is it?” Ginny asked. Luna stood up too, but she went to her desk instead of towards Ginny.

“I’d like to have dinner with you tonight,” she said, shuffling through reams of parchment. “I want us to have a proper conversation. I think we’ve spent a lot of time apart and we don’t know very much about each other anymore, but I’d like that to change, especially if we are to be here for the indefinite future.”

“That sounds fine,” Ginny said with a sigh, running a hand over her head. “For what it’s worth though Luna, I’m still sorry. For everything.”

Only then did Luna look up and give her a small nod, and Ginny felt comfortable enough to leave her alone to get her work done.


	15. Chapter 15

Ginny fretted over the muffled bangs and thuds outside her bedroom door all afternoon. The noise was standard for Luna’s experiments, but Ginny hoped she wasn’t getting injured. It took a lot of restraint to hold herself back from checking.

With little to do inside the tiny bedroom, she spent most of the day rummaging through her own things to try to entertain herself. She stuck a flyer for Amelia Bones’ campaign on the door, but had quickly unstuck it because the stern gaze was unnerving. She reread an old letter from Hermione and Ron from when she’d been in Auror training, wondering how they were both doing now that they were apart. There was also a Snitch at the very bottom of her trunk; Ginny had squinted at it before remembering (rather unpleasantly) that it was a broken one she and Giselle had nicked from a training pitch years ago. 

It made her return to the bundle of letters that Giselle had sent over the years.

They’d barely spoken after the breakup, but after Ginny had quit the team, Giselle had written to her on her birthday. Ginny hadn’t read the letter, leaving it unopened along with the half dozen other letters Giselle had sent her over the past few years, though she’d come close to reading them on difficult nights. The type that would pass in a haze that had her sinking low enough to think that Flooing to Giselle’s flat was a perfectly solid idea. Her friends had helped her get through it - Tonks, Fleur, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Demelza - they’d all stood by her, bolstering her through the worst times. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been good too, as well as the rest of her family. She certainly hadn’t wanted for support, but that made the twisting knot of feelings in her chest feel all the more frustrating.

Ginny thumbed through the bundle. The envelopes were rough and differently sized, but the handwriting was precise and tiny in Giselle’s signature red. Her nail caught on the edge of one of the envelopes and she almost tore it open, but just as she was about to there was a knock on the door.

Tossing the letters over her shoulder, she leapt to answer it. Luna was freshly showered, wearing a breezy blue dress that fell to her ankles. Ginny’s fingers jumped to hide a hole at the bottom of her t-shirt and she flushed. Luna even had a flower in her hair and she smelled like fresh lilies, but Ginny was still in her pyjama bottoms.

“Were we dressing up?” she asked. Luna smiled. Ginny’s heart leapt to her throat.

“My experiments were messy,” she said. “You don’t have to get dressed.”

“No, no,” Ginny said. “I’ll be right out.”

She closed the door with such haste that it slammed, and she yanked it back open, red-faced. “Sorry!” she said. “Didn’t mean that.”

Amused, Luna wandered back into the kitchen and Ginny shut the door again, quieter this time before changing into a button down and jeans.

Luna had made roast chicken and potatoes for dinner, but there were still unwashed pots on the stove that Ginny waved a wand to clean. Luna turned to see them scrubbing themselves in the sink and gave Ginny a gorgeous smile.

“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate that.”

“No problem,” Ginny said. Luna’s smile made her feel like she’d been hit by a Jelly-Legs jinx. “Thank you for cooking.”

“You’re welcome,” Luna said, her smile broadening. She brought two glasses of wine and handed one to Ginny, holding her own aloft. Ginny followed suit.

“What are we toasting to?” she asked.

“To forgiveness,” Luna said. “Recovery. Rebirth.”

“As good as anything to toast to,” Ginny said, clinking her glass against Luna’s and taking a sip.

They sat down and dug in, but a nervous prickling frizzled through Ginny’s chest and over her palms, which were sweating by her second bite of chicken. The food was good but she could barely taste any of it in the silence of the room. The plants rustled gently, but Luna said nothing till they were midway through the meal, by which time Ginny’s cutlery was practically slipping out of her hands. 

“I don’t know where to begin to ask you things,” Luna said, taking a small bite of roast potato. “The last time I had a real conversation with you was when the Harpies took you on for their reserve team a few weeks after we left Hogwarts.”

“Wow,” Ginny whistled. “That’s ages.”

“It is,” Luna said. “So where should I start?”

Ginny couldn’t answer. Her mind jumped around to find a point steady enough to land, but her thoughts settled on an unfinished conversation she’d had with Luna the other day.

“That Indian witch on the run,” she said. Luna laughed.

“I had a feeling you’d ask,” she said. “What do you want to know about Nisha?” 

_Were you two together_? Ginny thought, hating herself for caring, for the prickle of jealousy that bit into her gut.

“You didn’t tell me why she had to run,” she said instead. Luna’s answering smile was mysterious, a little secret flitting around her lips.

“Nisha saw things that people didn’t quite understand,” she said. “She had a marvellous eye for the unknown, an endless curiosity for what could be. Not everybody thought that was wise. Many thought her foolish, but she was very clever, very gifted. Too gifted by far I think. People didn’t understand her. Her family was very traditional, pureblood. Some of the older Indian pureblood families are quite like ours.”

“Oh?” Ginny said. “All about blood supremacy then?”

“Exactly,” Luna said. “They wanted her to make a good pureblood marriage and continue the family line, work for them, maintain their gold. They were richer than kings.”

“Put the Malfoys to shame I’d bet,” Ginny chuckled. Luna nodded.

“Nisha didn’t want that,” she said. “She was very invested in Muggle rights, and she’d spent almost a decade lobbying the Indian Ministry to take a stronger stance against anti-Muggle attitudes. Of course, like I told you, the current Minister is very invested in Muggle protection, but I think legally addressing a problem and trying to fix a bad attitude are very different.”

“Oh definitely,” Ginny huffed. “Half the people here don’t think wizarding Britain has an anti-Muggle problem, but when’s the last time you walked into a party and left without hearing at least one joke that deserved a punch on the nose?”

“Exactly,” Luna said. “But yes. When the Lethifold issue became public, Nisha’s family were more than happy to leave her to flounder. They testified against her at her trial.”

“ _What_?” Ginny dropped her fork. Luna nodded.

“It was shameful for them that she was helping Muggles,” she said. “They disowned her, so she went on the run, and then we met.”

One of the ceiling vines tapped Luna on the shoulder. Luna held up some roast potato that it curled around and pulled up. “People around the world are more alike than we think,” she said. “We have the same prejudices - we just point it at different people and keep blaming people outside our own communities. No one wants to look in and see that they’re at fault.”

“Yeah,” Ginny sighed, thinking about Giselle again.

“Nisha and I grew very close,” Luna said. “She helped me with some of the hardest parts of the antidote, and then Nirmal - my friend from the Seychelles - he helped me extract the coconut crab venom.” She stops again, curling a lock of hair around her finger and frowning. “It bothers me when the Prophet doesn’t talk about their help,” she says. “They keeping saying I discovered it all on my own. I couldn’t have done it with Nisha and Nirmal and so many other people helping me. So many people from all over shared their research, smuggled ingredients to me, taught me new spells…”

She shook her head, going back to her food again. “We’re so caught up in trying to be the only clever one, the _only_ worthy one,” she said. “Teams make things happen. Families make things happen. Friends make things happen. You have to work together, you have to live and work with other people, love other people and care for them.” 

She looked at Ginny, whose fork was paused over her food, enraptured by Luna’s words. “You’d know that best I think,” Luna said. “Your whole job was being part of a team. Even now.”

“I didn’t end up being a very good team player did I?” Ginny said, leaning back in her chair and tapping her fork on the side of her plate. “Kind of fucked that one up a bit.”

“Yes,” Luna said. “Why was that?”

Her tone was so gentle and straightforward that it reminded Ginny of the emotional Healer she’d been made to see while Giselle was at St. Mungo’s. The wizard had been calm, composed, and completely non-judgemental, even though Ginny had been too overwrought and too terrified of losing Giselle to talk.

“I was hurt,” she muttered, placing her fork on her plate. “I - it was hard, playing with Giselle when we were broken up. I did everything for her while she was sick - thanks for that by the way. If you hadn’t figured out the antidote, Giselle wouldn’t have…”

A sense of dread that she hadn’t felt in years crept through her, holding her with cold, dying fingers. The world faded before her eyes, sound muffling, colours dulling, and her mind slowly, slowly drifting…

Luna’s warm hand on hers brought her back to the kitchen table. Ginny breathed in the smell of herb roasted chicken, the tinge of rosemary, heard the rustling of the plants above and remembered that she wasn’t in sterile, death-touched St. Mungo’s. She was here with Luna in the middle of Muggle London, and they were safe, at least for now.

“Did she leave you after she got better?” Luna asked. Ginny nodded.

“Didn’t make sense to me,” she said. “Not then. Definitely not now. After everything… she just… she just left. Wouldn’t tell me why. Just said it was time for us to be done with it.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she took another sip of wine, trying not to gulp it down. “I wasn’t really alright after that. I don’t think I still am.”

“Maybe I should have made a potion to cure heartache instead,” Luna said. Ginny laughed lightly.

“Is there one?” she said. Luna shook her head.

“Only things to soothe you for a while,” she said. “Calming droughts, sleeping potions, the sort of stuff you shouldn’t take too much of in case you slip into a coma.”

“What’s a coma?”

“It’s what Muggle’s call the state of being unconscious for a long time,” Luna said. “You’re alive but not really here. Some people die. Other people come back but something isn’t right afterwards. Memories, movement, things like this. You don’t come back the same, especially if you’ve been under for long.”

“Giselle was unconscious and paralysed for a while,” Ginny said. “Maybe that messed her up.”

“Maybe,” Luna said. “Unless she was always like that.”

Ginny was halfway to nodding before she noticed Luna’s odd shift in tone. Her voice had lilted slightly higher at the end of the sentence. Ginny hadn’t had hundreds of conversations with her in the Forbidden Forest to forget what Luna sounded like when she was hiding something.

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Luna looked like she’d been caught in something she wasn’t supposed to be caught in. Her eyes widened and she shovelled more potatoes into her mouth. Ginny’s eyebrow rose higher.

“What do you know?” she asked. Luna squeaked.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, pulling her hand away. “I was away all these years. I don’t know what’s happened in the under Diagon lesbian scene.”

Ginny laughed, caught between disbelief and amusement. “The fact that you mention the under Diagon lesbian scene is awfully specific,” she grinned, taking Luna’s hand back. “Is that where you met Lucretia?”

“Lu’s very connected,” Luna said, eyes widening even more, seemingly desperate to latch onto a different subject. “She’s an interesting friend to have. Knows a lot of things about people.”

“Is that so?” Ginny grinned. “So you’ve been keeping up with me through the lesbian grapevine?”

Luna turned pink and wiped her mouth, but Ginny squeezed her hand, and then, almost as though pushed by some deep-buried instinct, raised it to her mouth for a kiss the way she used to do at Hogwarts.

Her lips brushed over Luna’s knuckles before she realised what she’d done. She froze, breath coming in small huffs over Luna’s fingers, too embarrassed to look up as she slowly lowered it to the table and inched away.

Neither one of them said anything for a moment. Ginny chanced a glance up but Luna’s cheeks turned even pinker when their eyes met. Ginny’s face was already beet red. The room grew warmer.

“You weren’t writing to me,” Luna said eventually. “I had to keep tabs somehow.”

“Well I think it’s very unfair that you got to keep tabs on my love life and I know nothing about yours,” Ginny said as a smile flickered its way onto her face. “You know all about me and Giselle, so it’s only fair that you tell me a few things about you.”

Luna’s face was practically bright red. “Alright then,” she said, straightening up in some semblance of keeping up her dignity. Ginny fist pumped.

“Yes!”

“Nisha and I had an exploratory relationship for a while,” Luna said. “We’re still good friends, but we don’t feel that way for each other.”

“Ah,” Ginny said. “It’s nice that you’re still friends. Better to have an amicable breakup than whatever I’m still going through.”

Luna smiled and opened her mouth, but then she seemed to think better of whatever she had to say and closed it again. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” Luna squeaked, stabbing a piece of chicken. “How’s dinner? You didn’t tell me if you liked it or not.”

Ginny laughed, but decided to hold off on the teasing; it was good that things were beginning to settle between them now. Anything unsaid could be revealed when the time was right. Simply staring at Luna, still pink cheeked with her hair falling over one shoulder was already good enough.

She returned to her food as their conversation continued, light and jovial, meandering onto other topics. There was something healing and good about her presence, something Ginny hadn’t felt in a long time.

She barely noticed herself falling in love.


	16. Chapter 16

_ One month ago _

**_The Daily Prophet_ **

**_Op Ed: Pansy Parkinson_ **

_In a time where attention should be diverted towards understanding and supporting the upcoming campaigns for Minister for Magic, wizarding Britain seems to have been gripped by an unnatural fury over sporadic anti-Muggle attacks. It baffles the rational mind to see ordinary witches and wizards so fired up over matters so trivial, while in the same breath, protest noble organisations such as the Hippocrates Society and call for their disbandment._

_Though it is gauche to appear ‘anti-Muggle’ as it were, might I take a moment to remind us all that Muggles remain outside the purview of the Ministry of Magic? The Ministry punishes perpetrators only because of the risk it poses to the Statute of Secrecy, a valuable piece of legislation that has kept us safe from persecution for centuries. While acknowledging the dark times the last war brought upon us, I’d like to take this opportunity to reassure our intelligent readers that those dark times have long since passed. Anti-Muggle attacks do not spell the end of peace in the wizarding world. We are safe, bolstered by good governance and infallible leaders, leaders you can trust, dear readers. As long as there are no attacks on our own kind, we are safe and well._

_While two-a-Knut publications like the unsophisticated red-inked Shrieker (or whatever it is they call themselves) may need to stoop to sensationalism to stay in print, I am proud to note that long-established publications such as the Prophet will never need to resort to such measures. You can trust that our information is reliable and honest._

_On the matter of the Hippocrates Society; we have seen rising dissent against the organisation in recent weeks, and that is something we must all look upon with concern. The Hippocrates volunteers are doing invaluable work by tirelessly formulating cures to maladies we once thought incurable. They are a group that brings together the brightest minds in Wizarding Britain, collaborating for the greater good, and our continued healing. They volunteer for our sake, and for that we must thank them, not decry their existence._

_I am aware of the prevailing concerns; the cures are too expensive, the high selling price of the cures unethical. To that I say, do you expect such valuable work to be available for free? Many of these antidotes require the rarest of ingredients, and rare means gold, my friends. Gold that goes into the long hours, days and months spent travelling, foraging, seeking out these priceless artefacts, all for our benefit. Hand in hand with the Society, the Burdock Corporation does the thankless duty of keeping these cures in storage, protecting them from being tampered with or having dangerous knock-offs made and sold._

_Consider the price you pay for your health an investment into the continued wellbeing of our society. Nothing of value comes without cost. Let us be grateful that it is only gold they ask for, and not something much worse._


	17. Chapter 17

Life in the flat began to settle into a pleasantly comfortable routine. Luna and Ginny spent their days mostly separate, with Luna busy with her research and Ginny catching up on old paperwork. Evenings were spent laughing and catching up with each other, taking turns cooking dinner to share. 

When it was time for Ginny to take a day off again, Luna passed her a letter as she was leaving. “I need you to deliver this to Rolf Scamander,” she said.

“What is it?” Ginny asked. Robards, who was hanging up his cloak on the rack by the door, looked sceptical.

“A report of all the work I’ve done last week,” Luna said. “Rolf and I were collaborating before we had to go into hiding. He’ll want to know my side of things.”

Robards glanced at Ginny, whispering so quietly she barely caught it. “You’ll have to inspect that,” he said. 

“Not unless you know how to read runes,” Luna said, startling them both. “It really is just about potions,” she said with a bright smile as she walked to the other end of the sitting room. “And you’ll need three different dictionaries to translate.”

Ginny looked at Robards for affirmation and he stroked his beard. “Hand it over to Tonks,” he said eventually. “If you run you’ll catch her before she leaves to take over from Padma.” 

“Alright,” Ginny said, slipping out the door and Disapparating. It was good that she didn’t have to leave the building to do that; there’d been an unfriendly wind rattling outside. 

The Auror Office was mostly empty again; Ginny nodded at Proudfoot and Dawlish as she passed them. She found Tonks slumped in her chair, frowning at a report that was trailing to the floor. “Wotcher,” she muttered when Ginny approached.

“I need you to get this to Rolf Scamander,” Ginny said quietly, sliding Luna’s letter over Tonks’ disaster of a desk. “It’s something about potions experiments. Luna wants him to know her progress.” 

“Are we back to first name terms with your girl?” Tonks said with a cheeky smile that didn’t quite mask the shadows under her eyes. Her hair was silvery blonde today, not unlike Fleur’s.

“Are you doing alright?” Ginny asked. Tonks nodded. 

“Couple of late nights,” she said. “Taking shifts to relieve all of you once a week is no joke. I’m working a different house every other day and I’m barely home. It’s starting to get to me.” She took the letter with a frown, tapping a finger over the frame of her wedding photograph with Fleur. 

Ginny looked over her shoulder to see if there was anyone within earshot, but there weren’t any Aurors as far as she could see. 

“There’s something else,” she whispered. Tonks looked up and Ginny mimed scribbling something, so Tonks passed over a quill and some scrap parchment. 

_Luna said Burdock’s people attacked her and her father back when she first sold her cure. They forced her to sell, tried to force an Unbreakable Vow but she escaped. They came back to attack them again when the Six were targeted._

She passed the parchment to Tonks, who skimmed it. A slight widening of the eyes were the only indication that she was surprised by the information. With a flick of her wand, she incinerated the note before getting to her feet.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing her cloak and waving her wand distractedly to neaten her desk. It didn’t help. “You’ll have to Side-Along with me.”

“Where are we going?” Ginny asked. Tonks shrugged on her cloak and grinned.

“It’ll be an adventure,” she said. “You’ll need it after being cooped up for too long.”

The Diagon Alley fiasco came barrelling into her head but Ginny tried to look nonchalant. Tonks yanked open a drawer and took out a crumpled piece of parchment, sticking it in her pocket before motioning Ginny to follow. 

With a great groaning and clanking, the clattering lifts took them to the Atrium. Fudge’s campaign banners hung overhead, his smug smile repeated six times over. Ginny glared at one of them and Tonks found a less crowded spot by a fireplace and took Ginny’s hand. 

“Ready?” she asked. Ginny nodded, wrapping her cloak tight around herself, and then they were gone. 

They Apparated into an empty alleyway somewhere in Muggle London, but Ginny knew they’d gotten lucky with the lack of people. With the trouble with the Diagon Alley trip still looming over her head, Ginny had no intention of getting into any other scrapes, even if this one would technically be Tonks’ fault. 

The wind was still nippy, reddening her cheeks and nose. Tonks reached into her pocket and handed over the piece of parchment. “Here,” she said, motioning for Ginny to follow her out of the alley. Ginny looked at the parchment. 

_Meeting location: Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London_ , it said in a lazy sort of scrawl that Ginny had never seen.

“Got it?” Tonks asked. Ginny nodded, and Tonks took the parchment from her and incinerated it. “Next time we have to come here for something,” she said, “it’s safest to Apparate onto the front step.”

“Okay,” Ginny asked, wondering what front step she was meant to be Apparating onto, following Tonks down a few streets until they approached a row of grim and rundown houses. Ginny wrinkled her nose at a couple of overflowing rubbish bins, but when she raised her eyes to the houses again, there was a new one jostling for space, squeezing its way out till it sat just as tangible and present as all the rest of them. Even if it hadn’t been hidden, it would’ve been clear from first sight that this was not a Muggle house.

Tonks motioned Ginny to follow her and they climbed up the stone steps together. The door knocker was a silver serpent with cracked emeralds where the eyes would’ve been. It made Ginny’s spine chill. Tonks gripped it and rapped against the door once.

Shacklebolt opened the door. Ginny opened her mouth to say hello but was promptly shushed. “Careful,” he whispered. “We don’t want to wake anything.”

Alarmed, Ginny crept inside after Tonks, who was tiptoeing much more carefully than usual. Something that tasted too close to dark magic lingered in the musty air, making Ginny’s neck prickle.

Shacklebolt led them into the kitchen. There was a large fire burning bright and strong at the end of the room, but the stone walls and the high ceiling made Ginny feel ill at ease. Heavy pots hung above, casting odd, frightening shapes across the walls, and Madam Bones, Moody, and Harry sat at the end of a long wooden table. A mousy haired, freckled man sat opposite Harry, looking extremely out of place and slightly concerned. 

“Hello, Rolf,” Ginny said quietly when she reached the end of the table. Rolf looked startled, more so when Tonks passed him Luna’s letter.

“Hello,” he said. “And this is?”

“From Luna,” Ginny said. Rolf tore it open quickly and skimmed through the contents. Shacklebolt pulled out a chair next to Moody and Tonks sat on Harry’s other side.

“Thought this was a closed meeting,” Moody grunted, staring at Ginny who felt a jolt of worry and irritation.

“She had a letter for Rolf,” Tonks said. “And something to contribute.” 

“Just to brief you,” Shacklebolt said, because Ginny was looking confused. “Rolf has some new information about Burdock’s motives that’s skewed the case in a different direction.” 

Rolf looked startled again but he gestured at the letter and spoke to Ginny first. 

“Thanks for this,” he said, holding up the letter. “Been wondering how Luna’s been getting on now that ingredients are scarce. I stockpiled right before we had to go into hiding but it’s been complicated now that I can’t restock.”

Ginny flushed a deep red. “She has her ways.” 

“Rolf, would you tell us what you told Harry?” Shacklebolt said. Rolf nodded, straightening up and clearing his throat.

“So uh, the other night, I was talking to Auror Potter about, well, everything that had happened sort of leading up to the kidnapping, and I realised that no one knows that Burdock’s been targeting us since we started formulating our charms and antidotes and whatnot.” 

Ginny bit her lip. Rolf had barely begun, but his story was already corroborating what Luna had said. The guilt she’d felt at doubting her old friend increased tenfold.

“Dolores Umbridge was one of the first to bring me into the Ministry,” Rolf said, spinning Luna’s letter in his hands. “Before I did the healing charm for Scrofungulus, I was trying to strengthen the Wolfsbane potion. Managed to brew a batch that would keep for longer than a month, see? Right now we brew it monthly, and only in the quantities required to take a single dose, because it’s completely ineffective otherwise, but I was mucking around and figured out - anyway, never mind…” 

“What happened after you were brought in?” Shacklebolt asked.

“She spoke to me in one of the courtrooms downstairs,” Rolf said. “Told me that working on the Wolfsbane potion was an imprisonable offence.”

Tonks made a grunting noise of disapproval. Harry clenched his fists over the table but didn’t say anything. Shacklebolt looked like he was smouldering with quiet fury. 

Rolf looked around the table. “It’s not, by the way. I checked. I think Umbridge took me for a bit of a simpleton to be honest, someone with a nose in a Herbology book all the time, knowing nothing about magical law.” 

“Did she send someone to fetch you from the Ministry?” Madam Bones asked. Rolf nodded.

“A couple of Aurors - John Dawlish I think one of them was,” he said, and Ginny’s stomach dropped when she remembered passing him in the office earlier. “I’m not sure about the others, but I can tell you what they looked like. They attacked me when I refused to sell the charm for Scrofungulus. I know they work for Burdock. I’ve seen them around their building when I had to go deal with the paperwork.”

“Luna told me the same,” Ginny said. “About Burdock’s people attacking her father to force her into selling.”

Rolf shrugged, his lips thinning. “I suppose they got to Luna after me then,” he said. “Learned better when I said no the first time. Mum set the Crups on them when they kept insisting, so they left. Came back for me when she wasn’t in the house. Barely managed to get away but they started threatening her instead, so I sold to get them off my back. Nothing happened for years till we all got attacked during this… this last thing.” He gestured vaguely. “They tried to force me into an Unbreakable Vow to not speak about all this. I think they forced a few of us. I managed to get away - barely though.”

He stroked his hand and Ginny glimpsed the red ridges of a scar underneath his fingers. “Luna said the same,” she said. “They tried to force her into making the Vow but she escaped.”

Madam Bones pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned quietly. Rolf sighed. “I thought you knew,” he said. “I thought that’s why we were under your protection. Burdock’s been threatening us for years now.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Madam Bones took off her monocle and wiped it on her robes. There were deep shadows under her eyes and reddened indents where her monocle had dug in. It looked like the stress of the campaign was catching up to her.

“Fudge has been getting more paranoid over the past few years,” she said, polishing the gold rim of the monocle. “He’s terrified about losing his grip on the government.”

“You think he’s authorising stuff like this?” Harry asked.

“Not authorising so much as looking the other way if someone else does,” Madam Bones said. “Though I doubt he knows all that’s going on. There are others who’re far cleverer.”

“Umbridge,” Tonks growled, clenching her fists. “She’s the reason his campaign flyers are stuck to all our cubicles. I’d blast her to bits if I could.”

“It’s not standard procedure for the Ministry of Magic to throw themselves wholly behind the sitting Minister, except during wartime or other exceptional circumstances,” Madam Bones said, carefully replacing her monocle. “But things are definitely changing.”

Harry frowned. “So are they using Burdock as a front then?” he asked. “To just… do whatever?”

Madam Bones looked around the room. “The Burdock Corporation was founded on good principles,” she said. “I drafted a lot of the legislation myself.”

“But why’d you make an organisation that denies antidotes to the public?” Ginny asked before she could stop herself. Moody grunted.

“This is what happens when you don’t teach them recent history,” he said, both eyes boring into Ginny’s. “None of them know about the war, there’s no sense of urgency —”

“Thank you Alastor,” said Madam Bones curtly as she studied Ginny, Rolf, and Harry. “Everything was in shambles after the First Wizarding War. A lot of people had been cursed or harmed in some way, and a lot of people saw fit to take advantage of that. The number of crackpot cures that flooded the market in the first couple of years after the Dark Lord’s demise was appalling, to say the least.”

“And the Ministry didn’t do anything?” Ginny asked. 

“They had more immediate priorities,” Madam Bones said. “Barty Crouch - the head of the DMLE before me - had a very stringent programme to round up Dark Wizards. There wasn’t a lot of attention to spare on the rest of the fallout.”

“Crouch was a bit of a maniac though wasn’t he?” Tonks mused, head in her hand. “Wasn’t his son caught with the Lestranges or something?”

“You can see why he might’ve been a little preoccupied,” Madam Bones said. Ginny had to fight a sudden, awful urge to laugh. “In any case, I drafted a bill for the creation of an independent corporation to oversee all Healing charms and antidotes. Minister Bagnold and the rest of them refused to authorise an independent organisation, so we had to bring it under the Ministry’s jurisdiction.”

“So Burdock’s technically a Ministry-run thing?” Harry asked.

“Yes and no,” Madam Bones said. “The original board was comprised of people with no professional ties to the Ministry. We didn’t have the manpower to spare.”

“That’s turned out brilliantly since,” Tonks snorted.

“Burdock was meant to report to the Ministry when it saw irregularities and hand those cases to the DMLE for investigation,” Madam Bones continued. “We managed to clear the streets of all the false cures people were peddling. Ran a rigorous campaign to make sure people understood that St Mungo’s was the only place to seek out legitimate antidotes.”

“So how come Burdock’s the way it is now?” Ginny asked.

“It took about ten years for people to stop panicking,” Madam Bones said. “We planned to shrink Burdock’s organisational capacity after that. I proposed that they remain as a storage unit to keep new cures in storage to protect them from theft and tampering. People could also report false cures to them if they came across any.”

“But?” Harry asked.

“The Lucidus Charm,” Shacklebolt murmured. “The first thing Burdock ever bought - Merlin what a disaster…”

“What’s the Lucidus Charm?” Rolf asked.

“It’s illegal now,” Shacklebolt said. “But someone claimed to have invented a spell that would clear all traces of the Imperius Curse from a victim.”

“The Imperius Curse can leave dangerous lingering traces,” Moody said. “Scarring the mind, so to speak, affecting your cerebral capacity if you’ve been under it for too long.”

“When the spell was invented, Burdock kept a close watch while St. Mungo’s ran trials,” Madam Bones said. “Once it was proven successful, Burdock’s board suggested to Fudge - he’d just become the Minister at that point - that they should purchase it to keep it safe from tampering.”

“And Fudge agreed?” Ginny asked.

“Not at first,” Madam Bones said. “Albus Dumbledore advised him against it, but the board managed to convince him in the end. They paid the inventor a large sum —”

“Bastard ran off to Venezuela,” Moody scoffed.

“St. Mungo’s had to purchase the right to use the charm from Burdock,” Madam Bones said. “Healers who used it unauthorised were suspended.”

“That’s how it works with our cures,” Rolf said. Madam Bones nodded.

“Indeed,” she said. “Unfortunately, the cure proved to be impermanent, leaving some patients worse for wear, but Burdock had seen how lucrative buying a cure could be so they stood against organisational dissolution.” She sighed. “I tried to bring the case to Fudge but he overruled me.”

“And now we’re here,” Ginny muttered.

“And now we’re here,” said Madam Bones. “I’ve been wanting to open an investigation into them for years. The Hippocrates attacks gave me a legitimate chance to do it - but we still have to do it under wraps. So, Mr Scamandar, if there is anything else you’d like to tell us about the Society and their links to Burdock, that would be most helpful.”

Rolf took a deep breath, glancing at Harry and Ginny for a moment before looking back at Madam Bones. “You’ll guarantee my safety then?” he said. “If I talk?”

“To the best of our ability,” Madam Bones said. Rolf took another deep breath.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”


	18. Chapter 18

The rest of the meeting was grim.

Shacklebolt asked Rolf more questions so he could break his statement down into more detail and Ginny corroborated his stories with what Luna had told her, chilling at every similarity. Worse was realising that Hermione (and Ron by proxy) must’ve been through the same.

Tension crackled across the room as it became clearer that the Auror Office was effectively hogtied; no one in the room seemed to know if they could trust Scrimgeour, who was closer to Fudge than anyone felt comfortable. With Dawlish implicated in Burdock’s dealings, the question of who to trust loomed frightfully over their heads.

Halfway through, Madam Bones took over the questioning, interrogating Rolf so deep about the Society that Ginny had a feeling he was going to disintegrate from nerves and exhaustion. Things came to a head when Rolf mentioned that the members of the Hippocrates Society had been recruited by an unnamed benefactor.

“Wait a minute,” Tonks said. “Someone actively recruited the lot of you?”

“I can’t tell you who,” Rolf said. “Don’t try to get it out of me, I can’t tell you.”

Ginny frowned, wondering if she’d receive the same answer from Luna if she asked.

“If you can’t tell us who, how do we know it’s not the same people behind Burdock?” Moody asked.

“It’s not, trust me,” Rolf said. “We took our oath to try to better wizarding society, to heal anybody that came to us for help and to do our part in trying to find cures that hadn’t been found. They don’t seem to like that very much at the Ministry.”

“Do you think Burdock’s targeting you because you’re researching Muggle cures?” Madam Bones asked.

“I think they just want to protect themselves,” Rolf said. “They already fucked up by leaving us all alive and talking after attacking us twice. We’re a liability now.”

By the end of the meeting, Harry looked pale. Ginny dragged him into the hall afterwards, leaving the rest of them talking inside. 

“Did you know?” she whispered. “With Hermione? When Ron was at St. Mungo’s back then?”

Harry shook his head. “I mean. I suspected something was wrong,” he said. “But Hermione made me drop it. Said Ron would be in more trouble if I kept looking into it.” 

“And you didn’t think to tell us?” Ginny hissed. “Ron almost _died_! And you didn’t tell —”

“Molly knew,” Harry said, stopping Ginny’s tirade. “And Arthur. But trust me Gin, none of us knew what to do. If someone had gone far enough to try to kill Ron to get to whatever Hermione was working on, we didn’t know what else they might do.”

“You could’ve told me,” Ginny snarled, but Harry only looked sad.

“You were already in a bad place,” he said. “With your breakup and trying to adjust with being back on the team. Molly thought it best not to tell - it wasn’t like we could report it to the Auror Office either. It was already pretty fishy when no one at work opened a case.” He sighed, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his robes. “I think one of the people that attacked Luna’s father must’ve been an Auror too. Molly was terrified, Gin. I’ve never seen her that afraid.”

Ginny’s anger was in danger of boiling over, face burning, hands shaking, but she tried to clamp down. 

“You realise what Rolf’s said, don’t you?” Harry said, tired eyes forlorn as he put his glasses back on. “That he can’t trust anyone, not even any of us, but he’s only telling us because he’s desperate for anything that might help.” He shook his head, brushing his hair out of his face. “Arthur told me not to tell anyone at the office. Said we couldn’t trust anyone at the Ministry. Said we couldn’t trust anyone that wasn’t family.” 

“ _I’m_ family,” Ginny started.

“I know,” Harry murmured, as though lowering his voice would make Ginny calm down. He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. “I’m sorry. I know it wasn’t fair to keep it from you or the rest of your brothers. But the more people knew, the more danger we’d all be in, most of all Hermione. And given your state of mind back then Gin… we didn’t want to add to it.” 

“None of you had the right to decide that,” Ginny hissed, pushing Harry’s hand away. “You don’t get to decide what I can and cannot handle.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said again, but they fell into an uncomfortable silence after that. Ginny glared around the house, eyeing the ornately carved bannisters. A snarling face hissed at her, the wood writhing and spitting. Ginny flinched.

“What’s this place anyway?” she whispered, stepping back. 

“Oh. This is Sirius’ house actually,” Harry said. Ginny blinked. It was the last answer she’d been expecting.

Sirius Black was Harry’s godfather. He’d raised Harry in Muggle London with his partner Remus after the attack at Godric’s Hollow. Ginny hadn’t thought that Sirius would have another house waiting, but she supposed, being the last living descendant of the Blacks, it made sense that he had some dark and disgusting heirlooms lying about. 

“This is the first time I’ve been here,” Harry said, looking around warily. “Sirius hates it so he lets it out to whoever wants to use it as a safe house. Suppose it comes in handy.” 

“I guess,” Ginny muttered.

Tonks emerged from the kitchen and approached them with a tired smile. “Everything alright?” she asked. 

“It’s fine,” Ginny said, walking back into the kitchen. She didn’t think she was ready for anything Tonks had to say to her right now.

Madam Bones was quietly examining a long scroll of parchment, looking less and less pleased as she read. Shacklebolt and Moody were in hushed conversation by the fireplace while Rolf had taken out a quill and an ink pot and was scribbling on the back of Luna’s letter in large, sprawling letters. Ginny drew closer, wanting to offer some kind of apology, or something else to lift his spirits, but words failed her. What could she say? 

_Sorry, we have no idea who’s attacked you and we probably won’t for a while?_

Some comfort.

“Hello,” Rolf said, without looking up from the parchment. “Would you be able to pass this along to Luna? I’ll be done in a bit.” 

Ginny blinked, surprised to be spoken to. “Oh. Right. Of course, yes.”

Rolf frowned at his parchment and crossed something out, then counted on his fingers and crossed something out again. Ginny kept watching him until Shacklebolt motioned her over. Tonks had rejoined them but Harry was still out in the hall.

“Yes, sir?” 

“You’ll have to debrief Robards once you get back,” Shacklebolt said quietly, stroking his chin. “Tell him to drop by at mine afterwards - that would be tomorrow morning, yes?”

“Actually, I was planning on going back tonight —”

“No.”

This was Moody, who was eyeing Ginny with his magical eye in a way that made her feel like he _knew_ about her little Diagon Alley excursion. She wondered with a spine chilling shudder, whether his eye could see through a Polyjuice disguise. “Long term assignments can take a toll. Get your rest, clear your head. Don’t go back to the safehouse tonight.”

“That’s mighty kind of you Mad-Eye,” Tonks said with a wry smile. “You wouldn’t have let anybody take a day off when you were Head Auror.”

Moody grunted. “Wartime’s different,” he said. “No one’s dying now and it’ll do well for our Aurors not to get attached to their charges.” He narrowed his eyes at her and Ginny almost flinched, but she tried to keep steady. “I’ve seen our best and brightest completely bungle an assignment over a crush.” 

Now Ginny was absolutely sure that Moody knew, even if the rest of them didn’t. If she didn’t know better, she’d say his eye could see into the contents of her brain too. Her face flushed bright red. Tonks looked even more amused.

“That’s a story you need to tell me,” she said. “But Moody’s right, Ginny. Get some rest tonight. You’ve had a long week.”

“Wouldn’t call staying in my room all week ‘long’, but alright,” Ginny murmured. Tonks patted her shoulder, but her smile faded quickly. Ginny looked at the rest of them, hesitant to broach the subject. 

“What does this mean now?” she asked tentatively. “Do we know who we can trust?”

“Those of you who were at Tonks’ flat the other night,” said Shacklebolt. “All of you are indebted to Tonks or Robards in some way. Far be it for me to exploit a personal debt but sensitive matters call for desperate measures.” 

Ginny’s heart sank. Tonks looked apologetic, but no verbal apology followed the look. Ginny knew she couldn’t expect one. She didn’t particularly want one either. It wouldn’t do any good, especially under the gravity of the situation.

“Of course, this puts everything else into jeopardy,” Shacklebolt said slowly, his deep voice so laced with worry that it had lost its usual soothing tone. “It implies some worrying things about the rest of the department - we can’t know for sure how much Scrimgeour knows, but we can’t trust that he is wholly unaware.”

“He did seem opposed to how you assigned Aurors to their charges,” Tonks pointed out. “Said you were making a mistake putting so many junior Aurors on such an important case.”

“He also didn’t do anything about it,” Shacklebolt said. “Until then, I think vigilance is best. We may need to have another meeting – though paperwork poses a dilemma.”

“You can’t have this on paper,” Moody said immediately. 

“A paper trail might come in handy,” Shacklebolt said, though he looked bothered by the thought. “Of course, spoken testimony can prove just as valuable, but it’s important to have evidence in back up…”

“Fudge won’t accept any testimony if it isn’t in his favour,” Moody said roughly. “If this goes to the Wizengamot, he won’t have the trial end in a way that discredits him.”

“All the signs point towards his involvement though,” Shacklebolt said, making Ginny’s stomach curdle. “If not involvement then at least his acquiescence. This can’t be happening without his knowledge. He may be blind to his faults but he’s not wholly stupid.”

“But if he’s starting to initiate some seriously violent clamp-down measures on the Society, does that mean he’s going to start doing the same for other things if he gets reelected?” Tonks asked. “What next, St. Mungo’s can’t treat Muggles who find themselves on the wrong end of magic? Hogwarts has to cancel Muggle Studies classes?” 

“Er,” Ginny said quietly. “D’you reckon it’s best to be talking about this here…”

She gestured lamely to Rolf who was still scribbling on the parchment and counting on his fingers. Shacklebolt sighed.

“He has a right to know,” he said. “I know this isn’t completely orthodox - or recommended. But I think it’s right for all of you to inform your charges of our new findings and see what more we can gather from their testimonies. I’ll try to pass along the verbal memo over the rest of the week.” 

“But Weasley’s right,” Moody said. “Better meet another time. Preferably with everybody - the five that we’re guarding and the Aurors, so we can give a more concrete debrief.”

Ginny’s stomach lurched at the realisation that they still hadn’t found Penelope Clearwater. It had been over half a month. She knew as well as anybody else that the longer she stayed missing, the more likely it was that she was no longer alive.

“In that case, Ginny, consider yourself dismissed until morning,” Tonks said, clapping a hand on her back. “Don’t you dare go back tonight, I’ll give you extra paperwork if you do. Get some rest, have some fun - just forget about all this for a bit.”

“Fine,” Ginny grumbled. Tonks squeezed her shoulder and smiled.

“That’s my girl.”


	19. Chapter 19

Not going back to the flat left Ginny with few options.

She could drop by the Burrow and stay for dinner, but she didn’t trust herself not to explode at her parents for not telling her the truth about Ron’s attack. It wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have just then, and especially not like that.

She Apparated back to her own flat, every muscle in her body painfully taut. Rolling her shoulders as she walked inside, she stopped in the middle of the sitting room to do a full body stretch, but all it did was bring back memories of off-pitch warm ups during Quidditch training. Even as her body eased into the movements, her mind grew more agitated, relief hovering far out of reach.

A shower, she decided, would calm her down, but the warm water only made her more anxious. Growling as she towelled herself off and stormed into her bedroom, she spotted her Firebolt hanging over her bed.

Flying had been her go-to stress reliever until she’d quit the Harpies. Her Auror training was so exhausting that it left her little energy to chase her worries, but her work after qualifying hadn’t been so brutal. Unwanted thoughts would keep her awake late into the night, the insomnia persisting for days at a time sometimes before Ginny would find a potion to deal with it. She hadn’t gone on a proper ride in almost two years.

Drying herself off and dressing, she unlocked her second trunk at the foot of the bed. For the last couple of years, she’d been using it as a place to toss her laundry over, but inside was everything Quidditch related she’d ever owned, save for her Firebolt. Her other broomsticks were shrunk and tucked into a separate compartment, and her Quidditch leathers were stowed away underneath. All her League paperwork lay atop of her robes with her League card lying flat and neat on the very top.

Trying not to look at anything for too long for fear of spiralling into a crying jag, Ginny rummaged around for her gloves, goggles, broom compass, and a set of grey winter training robes. She took her time getting ready, making sure her broom was in working order. When the sky darkened enough to fly, she Disillusioned herself, secured her flight permit in her pocket, snapped on her goggles and kicked off.

The taste of freedom that came from speeding skywards was overwhelming. The moment she was off the ground, her fury vanished as though she’d left it behind. The night air was a freezing rush against her cheeks, slapping her to full alertness with the sting. This was the sort of weather no one bothered to fly in; most matches from November to February were indoor friendlies and tactical training. If she was still in the League, she wouldn’t have bothered flying in this weather, but this was something she’d desperately needed.

Ginny ascended over the streets, just below the lowest clouds before accelerating a little more and flying higher to avoid being spotted. She’d cast a warming charm around her robes, but her head was freezing. She wished she’d thought to wear a hat. Her mother had certainly made enough of them for her.

The cars blinked like little fireflies on the roads below, filled with Muggles headed home after a long day. For a moment, Ginny wondered what it would be like to never be able to fly like this. What did Muggles do for a thrill? She’d heard about bungee jumping and the like, but nothing compared to being on a broomstick, holding the edges of your life between your fingertips.

When she’d gained enough distance from the motorway, Ginny risked going a little lower, accelerating and laughing as the wind whistled past her ears. She could go faster. This was still a respectable cruising speed suited to general transport, but there was no one else in the air with her. No pitch boundaries she had to stick to. She could fly as fast as she wanted to.

With a leap of excitement and a gleeful whoop, she sped up. It was growing painful to breathe and her eyes were dryer than she’d ever known them, but Ginny hadn’t felt so exhilarated in years. She looped through the air, even risking a one-handed hang from the Firebolt as she zoomed over a field. It was a move she’d become famous for, though it had pissed the Quidditch League off to no end.

“ _You’re encouraging reckless flying_!” one red-faced official had told her, but Ginny, bolstered by Gwenog and Giselle, had only laughed at him. What was the point of being a Quidditch superstar if she couldn’t show off what she could do?

Now flying over the edge of a deserted field, Ginny went in for a dive right towards a tree, going horizontal just before she shot into it. Her body skimmed over the leaves. Some of them nicked the exposed skin on her face as she zoomed past, but she barely felt it in her elation. She inched her broom higher, faster, cold fingers curled around the handle, swallowing hard when her ears popped, soul soaring into the vast, glittering sky.

Why had she thought she could live without this? She’d been too heartbroken to fly for a while and that was understandable. But giving this up forever?

The inky black night welcomed her in its unquestioning embrace, and she spiralled through the air. There weren’t any clouds ahead, but she risked a one-handed hang again, letting herself drift over the field, laughing almost hysterically now. Her eyes stung with tears that couldn’t form, heart thudding against her chest. There was no one on the ground as far as she could see, but from her vantage point, she could barely make out anything smaller than a large tree. Leaping back onto her broom and speeding into a dive, she laughed again as the ground zoomed towards her face, pulling up so late that she smelt the tuft of grass the tip of her broom had kicked up.

“Who says Seekers are the only ones that can Feint?” she cackled, her neck straining with the speed of her acceleration.

After a few more loops and speeding nearly fifty feet across a stretch of deserted road, the cold began to get to her. Peeking at her compass, Ginny steered her broom back in the direction of her flat.

The closer she came to her building the greater the dread in her stomach. She was shivering when she touched down and hurried in quickly, casting another warming charm with trembling fingers, but it was hard to forget what she’d finally realised. This job, even with all the danger associated with it, would never hold a candle to how flying made her feel. Quidditch was a thrill she’d kill for.

It was a stark and unfriendly realisation to come to while shivering alone in her silent flat. Ginny would’ve preferred to have figured it out with company present; even her mother’s slightly overbearing attempts at cheering her up would’ve been welcome. Realising the depth of her mistake with no one to comfort her was not how she’d envisioned her life going.

A warm cup of tea later, Ginny fell into a restless sleep clutching a hot water bottle, but her dreams dropped her somewhere she’d never thought she’d go.

She was on the couch in the safehouse, but the walls shimmered into a projection of the Forbidden Forest. Heart racing, she looked around. There was nobody there except her.

“Hello?” she called, as a faint blue glow shimmered into existence, growing and brightening into the much more tangible form of Luna Lovegood.

Ginny shivered, clutching the arm of the couch. Luna beamed, settling herself in Ginny’s lap. Ginny held her steady, hesitant and a little confused, but before she could wrap her head around what was going on, Luna was already kissing her.

Her lips were soft, softer than air almost, and at first it didn’t feel like she was kissing anything but the longer they kissed for, the more tangible it got, till Ginny could feel the heat of Luna’s lips on hers, taste the vaguely sweet aftertaste of plum pudding.

Luna ground into her lap and Ginny groaned, growing hotter at her touch. Luna’s fingers caressed her scalp, dragging over the top and to the back of her neck, pulling her closer to kiss. Her body was pressing into Ginny’s with a burning urgency, and Ginny held on tight as she tried to stay afloat, trying not to drown in the headiness of her touch.

Luna continued to grind into Ginny’s hips and Ginny couldn’t help but thrust upwards to meet her, spreading her legs a little more and pushing Luna’s hips down to meet her. She wanted to undress, for there to be nothing between the both of them, to be skin to fevered skin, an inferno only one matchstick flame away from taking the whole Forest down with them. Luna’s shallow breaths landed hot on Ginny’s lips, her nails scraping down Ginny’s arms. Blood thrumming in her veins, Ginny flipped Luna over and pulled her robes away. Her own t-shirt and boxers seemed to disappear; then, they were both unclothed and Ginny was moving between Luna’s legs, except she could feel Luna against her too somehow, burning hot and pulsing with light.

Luna moaned as Ginny covered her lips with a searing kiss, a distant drumbeat echoing in her head in time to her heart, but even as she began to reach the peak of her climax, she found herself being yanked away from the scene and crashing abruptly in her bedroom.

For a moment, Ginny didn’t understand why she was in the dark, breathing hard, trapped in her sheets with a throbbing ache between her legs, but as her room came into soft focus in front of her, she understood. Her face burned, completely embarrassed, but the ache between her legs was making her desperate.

Even as her fingers slipped lower, Luna’s face kept popping up in her mind. Ginny gulped, guilty and worried. Was it ethical to masturbate about a friend? Was it rude? If she did let her mind wander where it wanted to go, how would she even face Luna when she got back in the morning?

Perhaps it was the flying or the fact that she’d gotten some sleep, but her rational self won over. Half-lamenting her fight with Romilda, who’d always offered an easy fix for times like this, Ginny dragged herself into the bathroom for another shower and fell into bed exhausted. This time, no dreams plagued her rest.


	20. Chapter 20

Ginny returned to the flat the next morning, still embarrassed, the dream still vivid in her mind. Handing Rolf’s letter to Luna, she excused herself without making conversation. Staying in the same room had her remembering how her dream-self had touched every part of Luna that she shouldn’t have been touching or even thinking about touching for the sake of propriety.

“This is an assignment,” she muttered, as though that could calm her frantic heart.

Dropping onto the bed, Ginny smiled a little as she thought about what her friends would say. A stream of ribald jokes that would end in someone asking her if she’d ever fantasised about them. Logically Ginny knew there was no harm, but fantasising about someone else felt very different to thinking of Luna that way.

“This is an assignment,” she said again, fiercer this time. “Snap out of it.”

Her worrying eventually made her fall asleep and she woke up to Luna knocking on her door. Heart in her throat, the dream zipping back like an unwanted shadow, she found Luna holding a cup of tea and smiling.

“Hi,” Ginny said, more breathlessly than she would’ve liked.

“Are you alright?” Luna asked, handing her the cup.

“Yeah – yep,” Ginny said, taking the cup from her. “Nightmare.”

“Ah,” Luna said. “Do you remember any of it?”

Ginny almost dropped her teacup, but Luna continued. “Mum used to say that you could brew a very robust Forgetfulness Potion if you added the essence of a nightmare into it at half moon, but I’m still not entirely sure how she intended on extracting the nightmare from the person when dream recollection is already such a fickle endeavour.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway,” Luna said. “I wanted to see if you’d like to have lunch with me.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Ginny said, clutching the cup. The tea was almost as light as milk, something her teammates always used to make fun of her for, but Ginny couldn’t stand strong tea first thing after waking up. Plain milk just made her sleepy. Luna had remembered how she liked it from their Hogwarts days.

Heading into the sitting room, Ginny sat on the couch and put her feet up on the surprisingly empty coffee table. Luna’s papers were usually strewn all across, but today, everything was in a neat pile on the desk. Most of the plants were quiet. The vines above were barely moving, and all the books were stacked back in the shelf. The orderliness made Ginny frown in suspicion. There’d been more life in the flat the day Luna had first unpacked. Today, it was practically dead.

“Why’d you clean up?” Ginny asked. “Slow work day?”

“No,” Luna said. “I’m starting again.”

Something about her tone implied there was more to the story than what she was saying. Ginny took another sip of tea and got to her feet, putting her cup on the table before walking up to Luna, who had her back to the room. Just as she reached, Luna turned with a bowl of salad and bumped into her.

Ginny’s arm went around Luna’s waist, steadying her with ease as she took the bowl from her. Their bodies brushed together, pressing close as Ginny held on. Her heart did a funny sort of skitter.

“I’ve got you,” she said quietly, putting the bowl on the table. “Need any help?”

“No, I’ve finished making lunch,” Luna said. Ginny stepped back, arm burning where she’d been touching Luna just seconds earlier. “Just sandwiches today. I hope you don’t mind corned beef. I was preoccupied.”

Ginny grinned. “Haven’t had corned beef since Hogwarts,” she said. “Mum used to make me sandwiches to eat on the train.”

They sat down together and ate in silence. Ginny scarfed down three sandwiches with barely a breath but Luna nibbled half, looking contemplative. With the food settled in her stomach and the dream all but gone from her mind, Ginny finally came back to full consciousness and realised that something was the matter.

Luna had been friendly, but she looked more tired than Ginny had seen in a while. Her eyes had shadows underneath, her hair was hanging lank, its usual waves flatter and greasier. She looked paler, less vibrant, and her stare was vacant.

“I can take over making lunch if you want to,” Ginny said tentatively. “I’m only staying inside because you’ve needed space to work.”

“Cooking is healing for me,” Luna said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It helps me think. Especially if I’m doing it alone. But you can take over lunch if you like.”

“Okay,” Ginny said slowly. “But is something else bothering you? You’ve cleaned everything up and you don’t usually do that unless you’ve finished. I thought you were still trying to work out the kinks in the last potion.”

Luna shrugged. “Clean slate,” she said. “I need to go back to the beginning to understand how to do it properly.”

“Sometimes it helps to start over I guess,” Ginny said.

Luna gave her a searching look. “Did it help you?”

“Did what help me?”

“Starting over at the Auror Office.”

Ginny opened her mouth to drop a conversational _yes_ , but her voice refused to follow. After last night, she couldn’t bring herself to lie, not even to herself. Nothing came out of her mouth for a moment, but Luna kept staring.

“I wanted it to,” Ginny muttered, a fearful shiver running down her arms. “I don’t know for sure if it worked.”

“It’s been two years,” Luna said. Ginny nodded.

“I like my work,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy it. It’s challenging in a way that Quidditch never was. But my heart’s not in it the way it was when I was flying, y’know?”

“I can understand,” Luna said. Ginny bit her lip.

“I screwed up,” she said. “I was selfish in my last days on the team. Quit without considering myself or the rest of them. At least now I’m doing work that helps people. I don’t think I could live without doing some good in the world.”

Reaching over the table, she took Luna’s hand and gave it a soft squeeze. Luna’s revelation about the Burdock attacks came to mind again, and she had to squeeze down a pang of guilt at her earlier disbelief. “Like you,” she said. “You’re so good. Look at all you’ve done for people.”

“I’m not that good,” Luna muttered, pulling her hand away. “I’m just human.”

“And a very good one,” Ginny said, leaning back, but Luna looked troubled.

“Don’t make me into something that’s not real,” she said. “People think that the people they admire aren’t capable of making mistakes, and then when they do, their whole world falls apart.”

Ginny couldn’t argue with that. The amount of hate mail she’d gotten after her last match with the Harpies was testament to that.

“Yeah but, isn’t that what forgiveness is for?” she said. “When the people we admire and care about, the people we love - when they mess up. We forgive them, don’t we?”

“What if they do something you can’t forgive?” Luna said, looking away from Ginny and staring at her half-eaten sandwich. “Something bad.”

Ginny frowned, heart creeping into her throat. For a horrible second, she imagined Luna retracting her statement about being attacked and admitting that she’d actually sold the cure herself. It felt like whiplash, being dragged from believing one thing, to something else, and potentially back again, but she stopped herself from spiralling, catastrophising, making it worse than it was. Luna had told her the truth face to face, and that was enough.

“Bad like what?” she asked.

“Like when you thought I sold Burdock the cure,” Luna said, and Ginny’s heart thumped uncomfortably. “Would you have forgiven me even if I hadn’t told you the truth?”

The three sandwiches in Ginny’s stomach felt like they were making a beeline back where they came from. A sour taste began to spread over her tongue. She took a breath, trying to keep herself steady.

“It’s complicated,” she said. “I - it had been so long. I hadn’t seen or heard from you in so long.”

“I wrote you.”

“I didn’t get those letters,” Ginny said quietly. “Believe me Luna. They must’ve gotten lost - owls aren’t exactly reliable across long distances are they? If you were writing me from Nepal I’m not sure the owl would’ve even…”

“I made sure they’d get to you,” Luna said. “Cross-continental post is a perfectly functional service in many parts of the world —”

“Luna, I swear,” Ginny said. “I wouldn’t lie to you about it. Even if they reached my flat, I never saw them.”

In that moment, a smidge of suspicion, a hunch about who might’ve taken the letters from her began to gnaw at her. It was the first time she’d even had the thought.

Luna nodded. “That’s okay,” she said. “It’s fine. I can’t blame you for never having received any of them.”

Ginny’s fingers curled inwards, but she tried not to clench her fists, not wanting to come off as aggressive in her nervousness. “I’m sorry it happened like that,” she said. “But… if you’re okay to start over… I don’t mind. I’d like that actually. Get to know you again. We can start again.”

She’d hoped to see some sort of friendliness in Luna’s answering look, but Luna only looked more frustrated, her brows furrowed, chewing her bottom lip.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked. “I - I’m sorry if you don’t want it, I can understand…”

“The cure isn’t permanent,” Luna said.

At first Ginny barely heard her, but then the words sank in like drizzling raindrops, only faintly present.

“The… sorry?”

“The cure,” Luna muttered. “The blood malediction cure. It’s not permanent.”

Ginny could only think of Giselle. Her stomach lurched. She gripped the end of the table.

“What… what do you mean?”

“Rolf found out,” Luna said, still in the same quiet voice. “He’s been corresponding with people outside. Someone from the trial has already succumbed to his curse. He’s… well…” She took a deep breath. “Death would be better for him I think.”

Ginny could only blink. Giselle… the boy in the next ward… his family… her _career_ … Everything from the past couple of years came careening to mind. Pinpricks of icy dread began at the very edges of her limbs and crept inwards, determined to leech every vestige of warmth from her body.

“Did you know?” she asked. Luna shook her head.

“The trials were successful in the first stage,” she said. “But we had to monitor them of course, we’ve been monitoring every patient who took the antidote. They have to return to St. Mungo’s for the Healers to check their progress. We’ve been monitoring them for two years, I’ve been tracking every case. I don’t know when the others will fail, or if they all will. It’s data I need to collect, but since I’m not outside…”

Her voice faltered and faded away. Ginny gulped and took her hand.

“Look,” she said. “You still did better than anyone could’ve. Who would’ve ever thought there would’ve been a cure for something like this? It’s a fucking blood malediction Luna, that’s some of the worst Dark Magic there is. And if you made something that would stave it off, for even a little while?”

“It’s impermanent,” Luna muttered, shaking her head harder. “Imperfect. It’s not good.”

“Maybe that’s okay,” Ginny said, going around the table and kneeling on the floor in front of Luna. “Look. You’re giving these families valuable time. Time for them to get their affairs in order, say their goodbyes properly, make some good memories. Maybe it gives people a little more time to do what they’ve always wanted.” She grimaced. “I mean, even if Giselle starts to get bad again, your cure still gave her three full seasons that she might’ve never played.”

Luna looked up with tear-filled eyes. One fell quick and fast without touching her face, right onto Ginny’s hand. The icy dread thawed into a tidal wave of worry.

“I tried so hard,” Luna whispered. “I tried _so_ hard…”

“Luna,” Ginny said, heart clenching hard. “Please. This is so much already. You’ve given people what they thought was impossible. Don’t discount that. No one would blame you for this. I certainly don’t.” She raised a hand to wipe away her tears, but cupped Luna’s face. “I think you’re brilliant,” she whispered. “And you’ve done so much good.”

Luna’s bottom lip wobbled. Then, she broke, collapsing into Ginny’s arms, but Ginny held onto her and stroked her hair, soothing her. Luna’s whole body shook with sobs, her nails clawing into Ginny’s back as she screamed, but Ginny held her tight and kissed her head, whispering _I’ve got you_ over and over again.

> Image Description: Ginny kneeling on the floor, comforting a distressed Luna, who is clutching the back of Ginny's Auror robes. Luna is wearing a flowered dress. Art by RunSquidling. End description.


	21. Chapter 21

**_The Daily Prophet Quidditch Newsletter_ **

**_By Quidditch Correspondent: Sophie Lennie_ **

_The fifty-second Dilys Dewernt Charity Tournament has kicked off with the Ballycastle Bats facing off against the Holyhead Harpies in the opening match._

_The Harpies began strong with solid performances from Phelps, Morgan and Robins all scoring two goals apiece within the first twenty minutes, enraging the numerous Bats supporters in the stadium. Perhaps fearing potential backlash, Captain Gwenog Jones called for a quick time out after the Bats Chasers repeatedly failed to get a goal past the Harpies Keeper. The Snitch was caught moments after play resumed, ending the game at twenty-seven minutes and leaving fans feeling like they’d barely gotten their Galleons’ worth._

_Unlike the League Cup, the Dilys Derwernt Charity Tournament is famous for their flashier style of play, entertaining spectators and giving a performance worthy of a good donation. Many teams use the DDCT as a testing ground for riskier strategies and new moves, with winning or losing becoming less important than putting on a good show. In response to the mounting numbers of injuries, the Quidditch League has recently implemented a new set of safety guidelines. Thirty new moves have been added to the list of banned plays this year, much to the chagrin of fans across the country._

_The Harpies’ lacklustre performance has been standard since the suspension and subsequent departure of their most valued Chaser, Ginny Weasley (number 24, number now retired). No one can forget the thrilling final in the forty-eighth DDCT four years ago, where Weasley scored a goal while hanging off the back of Phelps’ Firebolt one-handed, after a Hurling Hex from the stands threw her off her broom. Harpies fans and Quidditch fanatics alike came to expect their spectacular style of play with its death-defying exploits and heart-stopping moves, but Weasley’s departure has seen the establishment of a more straightforward (and infinitely more boring) game strategy for the team. While effective and perhaps more suited for a League match, it does not fit with the spirit of the DDCT, and no amount of limited-edition Ginny Weasley posters will make up for what the team has sadly become; a shell of its former self, missing the fire in its core._

_While Ginny Weasley is now treading a respectable and courageous path in the Auror Office, fans of quality Quidditch long for her return, if only for a charity match or two. We miss you Red Lightning. Come back and remind your team how it’s done won’t you?_


	22. Chapter 22

Fraying at the edges from the need to clear her mind properly, Ginny decided to take Demelza up on her invitation. They agreed to meet at Angelina’s, partly because Ginny was growing more paranoid about her and Luna’s safety, and partly because she didn’t want to go to Diagon Alley and risk being questioned about the last time she was there with ‘Lucretia’.

By the time she arrived at Angelina’s on Friday evening, it was already chaos. Ginny was slightly late, hair still damp from a sudden shower of rain, and Flooed into a room full of uproarious laughter. The others were already there, as was Fred, who was holding a glass of wine with a broad grin, happily responsible for the mirth.

“Nice of you to wait to start the party,” Ginny said, putting her cloak away and passing her container of pork vindaloo to Angelina, giving her a hug as the rest of them shrieked.

“RED LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK!”

“The Empress of Quidditch has finally arrived.”

“Shut up,” Ginny grinned, red faced. “Did you know that there’s a tiny Indian place down in Diagon Alley now? It’s a couple of shops before the turn into Knockturn, it’s fantastic. They even do takeaways.”

“I’ll have to have a look there,” Angelina said. Ginny went around to hug everybody before giving her brother a much tighter one.

“Here,” Fred said, passing Ginny an innocuous looking red gumdrop. Ginny frowned at it.

“What’s this?”

“A gumdrop,” Fred said, but Ginny snorted and pocketed it.

“Course it is.”

“Gin, you won’t _believe_ the things I’ve got to tell you,” Demelza said, putting her Butterbeer on the table, her dark eyes shining in excitement as she led Ginny to the couch. In bright red robes and her hair cropped almost as short as Ginny’s, she looked her usual vibrant self. Katie poured herself a glass of wine and Fred grabbed his travelling cloak.

“Alright ladies and Ginny,” he said with a bow. “I’m off. Have a glorious time and don’t forget to eat your Gushing Gumdrops when the Red Lady visits.”

“Gushing Gumdrops?” Ginny asked, when Angelina came out of the kitchen again to kiss Fred goodbye just before he Apparated with a ferociously loud crack.

“He and George just developed it,” she said, as Demelza recovered from the noise. “Does wonders when your period comes in the middle of a match. Helps a little with the pain too, but I think they’re still trying to figure out how to stop the pain _and_ the flow at the same time.”

“This is the opposite of a Gushing Gumdrop then,” Ginny said. “They’re slacking with the names.”

Katie tossed Ginny a packet of crisps and she caught it one handed, but instead of opening it, she decided to throw it to Alicia just for the heck of it. “Heads up,” she said before the toss. Alicia saw it coming at the last second, barely catching it between her fingers, but passed it back to Katie. Demelza intercepted it and tossed it to Angelina, who tossed it back to her, only to have Ginny intercept it —

Then followed the most ridiculous game of ‘toss the crisps’ Ginny had ever experienced. In the end, half the couch cushions were on the floor, a chair was upturned, an elbow had been dipped in the pork vindaloo and all of them were clutching their sides laughing.

“You _need_ to be back on the team, Gin,” Demelza said, licking her elbow to clean it off. “I miss you so much. It’s not the same, it’s not as good with just Giselle and Valmai.”

“Geeta should be starting now, not Valmai. She hasn’t been good since her injury,” Ginny said, putting the chair back upright while Katie put the cushions back. Angelina opened the packet of crisps and set it down in the middle of the table.

“Wine, mead, or Butterbeer, Ginny?” she asked.

“Just Butterbeer thanks,” Ginny said. Angelina went back to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle and everyone sat down at the table and began to help themselves.

“I _tried_ to tell Gwenog that,” Demelza said, when Katie unwrapped the newspaper off a container. “I tried, but she just —”

“— THE MINISTER IS WELL QUALIFIED TO LEAD BRITAIN AS HE HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS. WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT HIS SERVICE WILL BE RECOGNISED AND HE WILL BE ELECTED TO A THIRD TERM, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE MINISTRY’S TIMELY AND CAPABLE RESPONSE TO THE HIPPOCRATES ATTACKS —”

“What the fuck?” Alicia yelled, and Ginny whipped her wand out.

“ _Silencio_ ,” she said. The photograph of Dolores Umbridge on the scrap of the _Prophet_ fell silent. Ginny couldn’t stand to see her face, so she incinerated it. Katie dropped it just in time.

“Scourgify,” Demelza muttered, clearing the ash off the table.

“What in Merlin’s name was that?” Angelina said, returning with the Butterbeer. Ginny took it from her.

“Colin Creevey’s doing talking photographs,” Ginny said, taking a swig of Butterbeer. The sugary warmth helped calm her thudding heart, still reeling from the shock of the noise. She placed her bottle back a little harder than she meant to.

“Shit,” Demelza said, clutching her chest. “He’s got his work cut out for him, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Ginny chuckled. “Anyway. Quidditch.”

“Gwenog just brushed me off,” Demelza said. “But it’s not like she’d listen to me anyway, she only listens to Giselle, and that’s only half the time.”

“Sucks that you aren’t in the League now Gin,” Angelina said, dragging a chair out to sit. “What’s the point of playing when all the good players are gone?”

“I’m one good player,” Ginny pointed out, helping herself to a large serving of everything. “There’s still plenty of competition.”

“Yeah but it’s a lot of showboating,” Katie said, digging into her mashed potatoes with gusto. “There’s not much real playing going on anymore. You’re one of the few that would give us a good match you know? The Harpies Chasers are shite without you. No offense Demelza.”

“None taken,” Demelza sighed, shovelling a handful of crisps into her mouth. “I know they’re shite. We don’t do half the plays we used to - but I’m sure you know Gin, you’ve seen us play.”

“Actually no,” Ginny said, gripping her knife and fork to wrestle with a particularly tough piece of meat on her plate. “I haven’t watched a Quidditch match since I left.”

The table fell dead silent. With a grunt, Ginny finally managed to separate the meat, but she looked up to see everyone staring at her open mouthed.

“What?”

“You haven’t seen a single match?” Demezla squeaked. “But - but all those times you talked to us about - I thought you were keeping up!”

“Have you read through the replays at least?” Alicia asked. Ginny shook her head.

“Nope,” she said. “Auror training took up all my time. This year I had my first assignment right in the middle of the season. Was exhausted. I just skimmed a few replays sometimes.”

“So you haven’t watched… _anything_?” Demelza asked. “No League matches, no Euro Cup, nothing?”

“Nope,” Ginny said. She started to eat again, but her friends eyed her suspiciously. Ginny knew that they were sniffing out what she wasn’t saying, but she didn’t know who’d drop it first. The clattering of cutlery filled the flat along with the tension.

“Was it hard for you?” Angelina asked. “To keep up?”

“I miss it all the time,” Ginny said, keeping her eyes on her plate. “I’ve wanted to play for the Harpies all my life. I - I regretted it the minute I quit.”

“Do you not like your job now?” Katie asked quietly. Ginny shrugged.

“It’s good work,” she said. “Good. Keeps me busy. Helps people.”

“Yeah,” Alicia said, but none of them looked convinced. Ginny sighed.

“Look, the damage is done,” she said. “Which team would take me back? The way I left… I shouldn’t have. I should’ve just… taken a break or something. Asked Gwenog to let me sit out the Cup that year and let me come back next season.” She stabbed an asparagus with her fork, the tines scraping over the plate. “I dunno. It’s fine. Not like I could handle playing with Giselle anyway.”

“I never liked her,” Angelina said.

“Me neither,” said Katie and Alicia. “She was _awful_ the other night down at the Ruby,” said Katie. “Gosh I just… _urgh_.”

“I mean…” Alicia said, as Ginny stuffed her mouth with food to avoid asking what exactly Giselle had done at the Ruby Red to merit such disdain. “She could be a bit of a snob sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Demelza said. “She wasn’t always the nicest.”

“She was always nice to me,” Ginny said. Katie snorted and Alicia choked on her wine. Demelza patted her on the back.

“Because she liked you,” Angelina said, with the air of explaining something to a toddler.

“Didn’t know you knew her so well,” Ginny smirked, and Angelina rolled her eyes.

“She’s at the Purple Panther a lot these days,” Demelza said with a frown. “Dating people and ignoring them a couple of days later. I’ve even seen her at the Cat.”

Ginny grinned. “ _You_ go to the Cat?”

“Hey!” Demelza squeaked. “It is a very liberating place!”

“Giselle did stick exclusively to the Quidditch ones for a bit,” Alicia mused. “I suppose she has a type.”

Everyone laughed, even Ginny. The ease with which she could talk about this was a bit of a surprise. Giselle had left a lot of scarring, but being able to joke about it felt good.

“Speaking of the Cat O’ Nine Tails,” Angelina said, and Ginny groaned, knowing what was coming. “I heard something about you and Lucretia going around one afternoon?” She gave her a wicked smirk. “Ginevra you player. I thought you were shagging Romilda.”

“Okay, firstly!” Ginny protested, flushing bright red while the others roared with laughter. “How did you know about Romilda? I thought that was under wraps!”

“You pissed her off about something,” Angelina said with a grin that was so reminiscent of Fred that Ginny began to wonder how much longer it would take for Angelina to morph into a Weasley triplet. “Angry girls talk Ginny. Especially angry drunk girls.”

“Oh damn,” Ginny said, heart thumping. “What did she say?”

“Something about ethics, I dunno, there weren’t a lot of details,” Angelina said. “But she was really pissed off.”

“Ah,” Ginny said. “It’s just work stuff.”

“Conflict of interest huh?” Alicia said. “Can’t trust a journalist these days, not with the drivel they’re putting out in the Prophet.”

“Well, Romilda’s one of the good ones,” Ginny said, regretting her final outburst to Romilda and resolving to send an owl to apologise. “And she doesn’t work for the Prophet. But I can’t exactly go around spilling work secrets, can I?”

“And you shouldn’t be expected to either,” Angelina said. “Your work is complicated and sensitive. There are some things you can’t release to the public.”

“You don’t want to make people panic,” Katie said, and the others nodded.

“That’s what I told her!” Ginny exclaimed. “She wasn’t having it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Angelina said. “But hey, you have Lucretia now apparently? Gotta hand it to you Gin, as far as people go, you’ve hit the jackpot. Lu’s _really_ cool.”

Everyone laughed again and Ginny turned red. “I’d never even met her in person till a few weeks ago,” she said.

“That’s because you _never_ got out!” Katie exclaimed. “Urgh, you were _so_ boring when you were with Giselle, it was always the two of you holed up alone together when there was a whole community of us right here!”

“We liked quiet nights in,” Ginny grinned, and Alicia rolled her eyes.

“I bet you five Galleons none of those nights were _quiet_ ,” she said.

“I’ll get the gold to your vault next week,” Ginny said, and everybody laughed.

“You barely go anywhere but the Ruby Red even now,” Demelza said, her tone taking on a bit of a whine. “Ginny, there are _so_ many other better places to be, especially under Diagon. You know there are.”

“If I get a moment off work, you have my full permission to take me anywhere,” Ginny said, laughing at everyone’s gleeful smiles. “And with Lucretia… well, that’s nothing. There’s someone else.”

Demelza’s eyes grew wide and excited, and everyone else leaned in. Ginny didn’t really know why she’d said it, but it had come out without her realising. But she couldn’t tell them about Luna without revealing any details of the case.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said. “Nothing’s actually happening. But um. Old friends. Back in touch.”

“Nice one,” Demelza said, holding up a hand for a high five, and Ginny smacked it. “It’s good that you’re taking a step. No matter what happens.”

“Yeah,” Angelina said, but her eyes were less teasing, more gentle. “We were worried about you for a second there.”

“You didn’t need to worry,” Ginny said, but Angelina’s gaze grew firm.

“It’s okay you know?” she said. “Break ups suck. Yours was a really tough one.”

“Yeah,” Katie said. “Let yourself off the hook a little, okay?”

“I was never on the hook,” Ginny said, but Angelina shook her head.

“It’s okay to relax a bit,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re moving on now. I hope you’re happy with the new girl?”

Ginny gave a non-committal shrug. “We fell out of touch a while back, so we have to work our way back to knowing each other.”

“That’s fair,” said Alicia.

“She said she wrote me,” Ginny said, starting on her food again. “Kept writing me for months and months but I never got any of those letters you know? None of them.”

Demelza snorted and took a swig of Butterbeer. “Bet Giselle burned them all,” she said.

Angelina looked appalled. “Demelza!”

“Wouldn’t put it past her,” Demelza said, unrepentant. “Sorry Ginny. But it’s true. She was always weirdly possessive of you. You never seemed to notice so I figured maybe you didn’t mind, or you didn’t care… I dunno. She’d always hate it when I spoke to you.”

“I thought she hated you because…” Ginny started, but shook her head. “Never mind.”

“What?” Demelza asked. Ginny sighed, tapping her fork against her plate. She regretted opening her mouth. Demelza was still on the team with Giselle, and anything she said could affect their play.

But everybody was staring now and Ginny didn’t have anything else to say to change the subject. Besides, she knew that Demelza would keep thinking about it if she kept quiet.

“She didn’t think you were a good enough Chaser,” she said slowly. “I mean - _I_ didn’t think so, obviously, you’re one of the best of them.”

“Well you trained me so you should know,” Demelza said coolly. Ginny nodded.

“You’ve a keen eye, and you make some bold moves,” she said. “It’s good stuff. And you’re very coordinated with any Chasers you have to play with. Adaptability is invaluable. Giselle just… had unrealistic standards I’d say.”

“I don’t know Ginny,” Demelza said, her mouth twisting a little. “Sounds to me like you’re still on her side somehow even after everything she did to you. You gave up everything for her to look after her, and she just dumped you? Even Gwenog admitted that was cold.”

Ginny’s food turned cold in her mouth. She didn’t have a justification for what Demelza had said, but as Angelina carefully steered the conversation towards safer waters, she couldn’t help but turn it over in her mind.


	23. Chapter 23

Luna was in slightly better spirits when Ginny returned to the flat the next morning, which was a relief considering how quiet and withdrawn she’d been all week. Even the plants were rustling a little more.

“Thank you, Gawain,” Luna said, waving goodbye to Robards. “I always appreciate our talks.”

“As do I Luna,” said Robards. “Keep well.”

“What, no love for me?” Ginny said. Robards rolled his eyes and walked out of the flat. They heard the pop of his Disapparition, and Ginny turned to Luna with a big smile. “Feeling better?” she asked.

“Getting there,” Luna said. Her answering smile was brighter than it had been in a while. Ginny beamed.

“I’m glad,” she said, reaching into the pocket of her robes and handing her the mail. “Here are your letters. I’m just going to get changed.”

“Alright,” Luna said. Ginny waved her wand as she went, strengthening the wards around the flat.

After shrugging off her robes and putting on a t-shirt, she traipsed back into the warm sitting room. The warming charms in the flat always needed some tweaking; between the two of them, they could never figure out how to get the temperature just right. Today it was so comfortable that Ginny had half a mind to curl up on the couch and take a nap.

“How was dinner with your friends?” Luna asked, putting her mail away without opening anything. Ginny sat on the couch next to her, pleased when Luna scooted close.

“It was nice,” she said. “I haven’t spent much time with them recently. Didn’t realise how much I’d missed it.”

“That’s nice,” Luna said, fingering her necklace. Ginny’s hand crept up to her own, fiddling with the pendant.

“How come you never sent me a message on this thing when we were away?” she said.

“I don’t know,” Luna said. “I thought about it a lot but I sort of… didn’t want to bother you much I suppose. Letters seemed more polite.”

“I wouldn’t have been bothered,” Ginny said. “You were my friend.” Luna nodded, but she didn’t look too convinced. “You must miss your other friends,” Ginny said quietly. “All over the world.”

“I do,” Luna said. “I write them though. I was hoping to visit them soon, but I doubt I can go for a while.”

“It’ll be soon, hopefully,” Ginny said.

“Are you sure?” Luna asked. Ginny sighed and shook her head.

“I wish I could be,” she said. “I wish I could take you out of here and keep you safe.”

Luna scooted even closer and lay her head on Ginny’s lap. “Talk to me about something else,” she said. “How were your friends? What did you talk about?”

“Quidditch,” Ginny said, her fingers falling to Luna’s hair and stroking the edge of her hairline. “Mostly Quidditch really. It was Demelza Robins, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell”

“All the Gryffindor Chasers, back together,” Luna said. Ginny smiled.

“You remembered them all.”

“I remember people who are important to you,” Luna said. “What do you like most about them?”

“Hmm,” Ginny said, a little taken aback at the nature of the question, even though it was precisely the kind of thing Luna would ask. “Well. Angelina’s a natural born leader, brilliant Chaser of course. She was always my biggest inspiration at Hogwarts. Even after I joined the Harpies.”

“That’s lovely,” Luna said with a smile.

“Yeah,” Ginny said. “Katie - Katie cares. So much. She’s always the type to jump to your defence first. Alicia’s very sensitive and very intelligent. She notices things a lot of other people wouldn’t. And Demelza’s just the sweetest. She’s always so eager, so kind, and she remembers little things that make you happy.” Ginny smiled, thinking of the Chocolate Frog card Demelza had sent. “She’s lovely.”

“They all sound wonderful,” Luna said. “Thank you for telling me about them.”

“I want to know who’s important to you too,” Ginny said, her fingers twining through Luna’s blonde locks. “Would you like to tell me about some of your friends?”

“I suppose I could tell you about Lucretia,” Luna said. “Since I’ve already told you a little about Nirmal and Nisha, and you’ve actually _met_ Lucretia so I suppose you deserve to know more about her.”

“That would be nice,” Ginny said. “Especially considering half the country seems to think I’m seeing her now.”

Luna’s laugh was bright and merry, her eyes shining up at Ginny. “Oh dear,” she said. “I’m certain that was never her intention.”

Ginny grinned. “How certain?”

Luna snorted. “Maybe fifty percent.”

Ginny chuckled too. “How’d you two meet?” she asked.

“At the Cat O’ Nine Tails.”

“Why has _everyone_ been there but me?” Ginny muttered.

“D’you only go to the Ruby Red?” Luna asked. Ginny nodded and Luna laughed again. “That’s just scratching the surface! There are so many better ones under Diagon. Have you really never been anywhere else?”

“Once or twice,” Ginny said with a shrug. “But I’ve never found anywhere fun.”

Luna’s whole face shone bright with amusement. “Ginevra,” she said. “When all this is over, I’m taking you on a real tour. You have _no_ idea what you’re missing.”

Ginny smiled as Luna laced her fingers through hers, but instead of holding on, she brought Ginny’s hand back to her head again. Ginny resumed stroking her hair but kept shaking her head. “So how’d you find the Cat?”

“Through Lu, obviously,” Luna said. “I met her when I was buying ingredients from her a long time ago – probably a couple of years after you started playing for the Harpies. We got to talking about my travels, and I’d mentioned a particularly fascinating bathhouse I’d visited once…”

Ginny found herself momentarily assailed by some very inappropriate images and tried to blink them away.

“And she gave me her card and told me to visit her club,” Luna said. “Her performances are spectacular. She does things with a wand that - well, quite frankly shouldn’t be done if you’re concerned about safety…”

“Now I’m curious,” Ginny grinned. “I don’t want to go there without you though. I feel like I’ll need the moral support.”

Luna snorted again. “Lu’s great,” she said. “Very loyal, very intelligent. She’s a wonderful listener. I’ve learned a lot from her, and not just about potions ingredients either.”

“Oh?” Ginny said. Luna nodded, sitting up slowly, but before Ginny could even think about missing the contact, she’d snuggled close, resting her head on Ginny’s shoulder.

It felt only natural for Ginny to put her arm around Luna then. Luna snuggled in closer, using Ginny’s leg as a support to pull herself in. There was a funny lurching in the pit of her stomach that coiled tighter into a throbbing between her legs as she watched (and felt) Luna’s palm press into her thigh.

“Lu’s very good with people,” Luna said. “She’s the type to look at a person and know about them almost immediately. I did wonder if she was an Empath for a while. They’re sort of like Metamorphmagi in that they’re born – you can’t learn to be one. But instead of changing their appearance, they’re able to read minds and understand animals…”

“Oh,” Ginny said, trying to focus on the conversation now that Luna was pressed up so close against her. She took a deep breath and regretted it; the faint scent of Luna’s perfume completely overwhelmed her. “I thought Empaths were only from that - what was that book called? Love Beneath the Great Lake?”

“That book has _much_ more truth in it than most people think,” Luna said.

“Oh,” Ginny said, wondering for a moment how the biggest romance novel sensation in 1990s wizarding Britain could’ve had any truth to it - but this _was_ Luna she was speaking to, and she’d already proven a lot of seemingly impossible things very true.

“Then I wondered if she was very good at Legilimency but turns out she’s just naturally intuitive.”

“Must be a nice trait to have,” Ginny muttered. “Imagine how easy it would be to suss people out.”

“Mmm, yes,” Luna said. “She was delighted to know that we’d been friends at Hogwarts. We talked about you a great deal. It was nice to get to talk about you to somebody - Daddy’s lovely but he doesn’t quite know how to carry on a conversation about someone he doesn’t know.”

“But Lucretia knows me?” Ginny asked.

“She’s a fan of you,” Luna said. “Thinks you’re seriously fit, but doesn’t know much other than what I told her about you.”

“All good things I hope?” Ginny said with a wink.

“Of course,” Luna said. “She knows Giselle though.”

“Oh,” Ginny said, stomach sinking. “What does she think of her?”

“Lu doesn’t always share her opinion about people,” Luna said, but the words spilled out so fast that Ginny wondered if Luna was telling the whole truth. “She just knew Giselle. Seen her around the clubs and bars and all.”

“Oh,” Ginny said again. “I thought… never mind.”

“What?” Luna asked, lifting her head to look at Ginny in the eye. Their faces were so close to each other that Ginny’s lips brushed over the tip of Luna’s nose when she moved. Her cheeks burned.

“I - uh… Giselle didn’t enjoy going out much,” she mumbled, too aware of how close their lips were, too aware of the own tingling in her skin, the fire in her heart. “She sort of implied she wasn’t really into all that. That’s why I haven’t really been under Diagon much. We spent a lot of time in our flat.”

“Oh,” Luna said. “Well that’s alright. No one _has_ to go out.”

“But Giselle did before me,” Ginny said. It wasn’t a straight up question, but there were things she wanted to clarify about Luna’s statement.

“Well…” Luna said, sitting up straight and stretching with a yawn so big that Ginny would bet her Firebolt it was a fake one. “I dunno.”

“Luna…” Ginny said, half amused, half curious. She reached out for one of Luna’s wrists and tried to tug her back in. “It’s fine. You can say what you want. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me about things.”

“What makes you think I’m not talking about something?” Luna said with an upward glance at a rustling plant.

“Because you’re not looking at me,” Ginny said with a quiet chuckle. “And you’re avoiding the subject. You’ve never been the best liar.”

“Well I don’t like lying,” Luna huffed, but Ginny shifted in and tilted Luna’s chin with a finger.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “I don’t mind you talking about Giselle. If you don’t like her, that’s your own opinion. I won’t be offended.”

“I’ve never met her,” Luna said. “So I don’t have a real opinion on her.”

“But everyone else does,” Ginny said. Luna shrugged.

“These aren’t my opinions,” she said, her voice returning to its clear toned lilt again. “But no one else I’ve met seems to like her very much. Lu thinks she’s selfish. Other people think she’s conceited. But…” She frowned at Ginny as though studying her, trying to find an answer.

“What is it?” Ginny said quietly.

“I know _you_ ,” Luna said. “I knew you very well when we left Hogwarts. You have a good heart, and you hate people who aren’t honourable or good in some way. If you loved her at all, she can’t have been all that bad.”

Ginny let go of Luna’s wrists and leaned into the corner of the couch, staring at the plants on the ceiling. One of the vines waved at her, the flower at the end shaking glittering pollen onto their heads. Ginny expected to sneeze, but nothing happened. Pinpricks of light danced across their line of sight. The effect was quite pretty, but Ginny wanted to be clear eyed for this conversation.

“She was so beautiful,” she said, waving the pollen away from her face. Luna inched close and lay her head on Ginny’s shoulder again. Her fingers inched over Ginny’s closed fists and over her knuckles. Ginny flexed her hands and Luna’s fingers slotted between the gaps of her own.

“She certainly is,” came the quiet reply.

“And she was so good at what she did,” Ginny sighed. “The Harpies hadn’t changed their lineup in about a decade. She was the first Chaser to replace the old guard. I was so excited to play with her. I’ve never seen anyone play the way she does.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ginny said. “She was one of a kind. People think I’m good because I got taken off reserve a couple of weeks in, but I just got lucky ‘cause Gertie Maddock retired. Then Puddlemere poached Wilda and Gwenog lost her shit.”

She chuckled. Luna smiled along with her.

“Giselle and I were already used to playing with Wilda and our styles clashed with Valmai when she joined the starting team,” Ginny continued. “Giselle was our centre-forward that year.”

“I thought you were the Harpies’ centre-forward,” Luna said. Ginny shook her head.

“I only became CF a year later,” she said. “Giselle anchored us that season. Figured out how we could work together. And was also so protective of everyone and everything she loved. I loved that about her. She’d defend every loyalty, and she was - she seemed so honest. Straightforward.” She frowned. “Maybe she was when I met her.”

“You aren’t a bad judge of character,” Luna said.

“Maybe I was too quick to judge with her,” Ginny said.

“Or maybe she changed,” Luna offered. “People change.”

“Yeah,” Ginny said with another sigh. “But she loved me. She loved me so fiercely. I thought she’d be with me for the rest of my life.”

The plant kept shaking pollen over their heads and Ginny frowned at it, irritated at the growing iridescence around their heads. “What’s this stuff?” she asked, shaking some off her shoulders and wiping her eyes.

“Firelight Dust,” Luna said, looking up and shooing the plant away. “That’s enough now.”

The plant retreated. Ginny met Luna’s eyes again. Her cheeks glittered and her hair was shimmering too. Ginny reached out to brush its off her cheeks but Luna’s hand went to her wrist, fingers curling gently around it.

“Does it hurt to talk about her?” she asked.

“Not the way it used to,” Ginny said.

“Okay,” Luna said. Ginny wiped some pollen off Luna’s cheeks, noticing that her eyelashes held tiny flecks too.

“You’ve got a bit on your lashes,” she said, moving in. “Close your eyes. I’m going to blow.”

Luna closed her eyes and Ginny reached in, still cupping her face in her hand. She blew gently on Luna’s eyelids, but Luna’s eyes fluttered open and she leaned in a little, perhaps involuntarily, but she came much too close to Ginny’s face.

The kiss then, was a complete accident.

Their lips touched, soft and lopsided at first, but then Luna was kissing her - or she was kissing Luna, she wasn’t sure - but they were kissing each other nonetheless. It felt only natural to pull Luna into her lap and kiss her hard and deep, which she then did, and Luna didn’t resist at all, kissing her back with a surprising amount of enthusiasm.

It felt like several hours before they pulled away, panting, faces flushed, breathless, but the minute they’d broken apart, Ginny wanted back in again, back in and more.

Before she could do or say anything, Luna was on her feet and headed towards her bedroom. Ginny sat, dumbstruck, wondering if she’d made everything worse between them with this, if she should’ve pulled away the moment it happened and been professional and responsible. Heart beating loud and fast like a war drum, she gripped the arm of the couch, nails digging into worn fabric.

But even as she began to agonise, Luna poked her head out of her bedroom. “Are you coming?” she asked.

Ginny needed no convincing.

> Image Description: Ginny sits on a blue sofa with Luna in her lap. Luna has one arm around Ginny, and their noses are touching like they are about to kiss. The walls behind them are purple, with several plants visible. Art by [showknight](https://showknight.tumblr.com). End description.


	24. Chapter 24

Ginny hadn’t been inside Luna’s room since they’d first moved in, so the sparseness of the interior was a bit of a shock. The sheets were a faded blue, neatly tucked in, the flat pillows lined up against the headboard. There were a few things on the table; a wooden case with a pair of wire rimmed spectacles, a bottle of moisturiser with a saccharine pink label that spelled out ‘COTTON CANDY’ in bright gold, a comb, a hair elastic, and some assorted hairpins. The wardrobe door was closed and a towel hung on the handle fixed to the side. It was a lot warmer in here too, much more than the rest of the flat.

There wasn’t much time to comment on the state of the room before Luna pulled her in by the t-shirt to kiss her again.

The Firelight Dust hadn’t been nearly as dazzling as the feel of Luna’s lips on hers. Ginny felt like she was free falling, like she’d taken a leap off her Firebolt with nothing but the wind in her ears and a wild hope that the broom would fly underneath her before she crashed into the ground.

Luna’s fingers scrambled on the back of Ginny’s head, failing to find purchase over hair buzzed too short to grip. They grasped for one another, pulling their bodies closer in a frantic rush, Luna’s breath coming fast against Ginny’s lips as she pulled at Ginny’s t-shirt, low whimpers escaping her throat. Doing the only thing that made sense to her, Ginny tugged the t-shirt over her head and tossed it aside.

Luna’s breath caught in her throat. She froze, one hand hovering uncertainly over Ginny’s shoulder. It was only a moment later that Ginny realised she was braless.

“Uh,” she said, a dull flush rising up her neck as her skin prickled, hot and embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I can go get that…”

“This is _much_ better than a Witch Witch centrefold,” Luna said, eyes travelling all over Ginny’s torso, clear appreciation written on her face. Ginny choked on the rest of her sentence, flushing even harder.

“You uh - you have that centrefold?” she asked, or tried to rather. The question emerged as a garbled, spluttering mess. She cleared her throat. “You have _that_ centrefold?”

“Of course,” Luna said with a sly smile. “I told you. Those Ginny Weasley packages send you _everything_.”

“Ah…” Ginny thought she might combust on the spot. It was one thing to do a cheeky nude photoshoot and laugh it off with her team, but it was quite another to be discussing it with Luna.

“I’m sorry,” Luna said, when Ginny didn’t say anything for almost a minute. “I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“No - no - _no_!” Ginny scrambled to reassure her. “Not uncomfortable at all. I - uh - _ahem_. Just embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed?” Luna cocked her head with a frown. “Why should you be? Those pictures were very bold and very confident. I think you should be proud of them.”

“I’m not embarrassed about the pictures,” Ginny said, scratching the back of her head because the flush creeping up her neck was coming with a skin prickling itch that always accompanied the sort of mortification she was feeling right now. She sat down on the bed. The mattress creaked underneath her thighs. “I’m just… it’s… I don’t know how to explain.”

Heart thudding, she tried to take a deep, full breath through her nose. Luna sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” she said. “We can just talk.”

“No, I want to,” Ginny said, slipping her fingers through Luna’s and staring at their hands; Luna’s rough with nails discoloured from her experiments and a shiny burn scar in a raised slash over her wrist. Ginny’s own; tanned, freckled, nails cut straight across and filed down.

“It’s just… argh, it seems silly to put it that way.”

“What way?”

Tearing her eyes from their hands, Ginny forced herself to look Luna in the eye. “I know we’ve been trying to get to know each other again,” she said. “And I’ve been loving it, don’t get me wrong, but stuff like this… it’s starting to hit me how much time we spent apart, not really seeing how we were changing.”

“It’s not a bad thing, the change,” Luna said.

“I know,” Ginny said. “But you knew me as a different Ginny. I was pretty young and hopeful and way less… you know…” She trailed off, her cheeks reddening further. At the rate she was going, she expected her face to burst into flame.

“Sexy?” Luna offered with a tiny smile. Ginny laughed, her chest loosening.

“Yeah,” she said, taking another breath. “Less of a sexual person. So it’s a little weird I think, that you saw me like that in a magazine and not you know… in real life.”

“I see…” Luna said, but frowned again. “I don’t see actually. How do you mean weird?”

Ginny shifted, taking both of Luna’s hands in hers and squeezing. “It’s not a bad thing,” she said. “I’m not upset that you have a nude centrefold of me.”

“Three of them,” Luna said. Ginny snorted.

“Thanks for the clarification,” she said. “But I mean, those were posing, you know? Fun, sexy, but I was just selling something. It’s not _really_ me. It’s not what you’d really see if you were hooking up with me.” She bit her lip, trying to figure out how to put her feelings into words.

“I can understand,” Luna said. “Did you not want my first impression to be that image?”

“Yeah,” Ginny said. “Because there’s so much more to it. So much more to what I’ve been all these years, and I know there’s more to you than what the papers have been saying too.”

“So then,” Luna said, tracing a finger up the inside of Ginny’s forearm and making her shiver. “Why don’t you show me what a real first time with Ginny Weasley’s like?”

Ginny chuckled, leaning in to place a kiss on Luna’s cheek. “I’d love that,” she said, brushing her hair behind her ear and nipping her earlobe. “I’d love that very much.”

Luna cupped Ginny’s face in her hands and kissed her and Ginny pulled her closer, hands slipping underneath the large t-shirt she was wearing. Luna had been spindly thin at Hogwarts, but her time away had changed her figure, as Ginny was discovering anew underneath her fingertips. Her skin was smooth over soft flesh and Ginny’s fingers traced over every dip and curve of the lumps of her tummy and over her wide thighs, feeling the ghost-faint ridges of her stretch marks. Kissing her felt like being encased in soft fluff, all sounds of the world muffled except Luna’s quiet moans against her lips and the rush of fabric underneath them. It felt like sinking into a warm and sweet pie, filling their heads with a comfortable indolence, the cosiness of a summertime nap.

When Luna took her own t-shirt off and leaned in to kiss Ginny again, everything sharpened. Luna’s necklace glimmered in sharp relief, the word _Friends_ mirroring back, echoing Ginny’s own pendant. She leaned in to kiss it, kissing her clavicle and moving up her throat, dragging teeth across skin. The warmth between them tipped over into a burning heat as their bodies moved against each other; Ginny could feel Luna’s breasts pressing against hers and pulled her in by the waist. With a little more scrambling, all their clothes were off and they were further up on the bed with Ginny on top.

Luna looked like the sun, blonde hair fanning out over the pillow, face bright, eyes shining with anticipation. A soft groan fell from Ginny’s lips as she kissed her again.

“You’re beautiful, Luna,” she whispered, slowly settling herself between Luna’s legs, pleased when Luna wrapped them around her hips.

“You’re very handsome yourself, Ginevra,” Luna said, running her hands through Ginny’s hair. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” Ginny smiled, placing tiny kisses underneath Luna’s jawline. “Are you alright?”

“I’m feeling really good,” Luna said. Ginny chuckled, lowering a hand to cup a breast.

“Let me make you feel better than really good,” she whispered, her thumb circling over a nipple. Luna arched into her with a shudder and Ginny trailed kisses down till she reached her nipple and took it in her mouth, swirling over the tip and gently squeezing Luna’s other breast in her other hand.

Luna sighed, arching in a little. She ran her hands over Ginny’s head, pressing her closer, harder. Ginny responded in kind, sucking one nipple till it was stiff and peaked under her tongue before moving to the next. Luna’s skin smelled faintly of smoke and flowers, with flecks of Firelight Dust glimmering in places.

A broken sigh fell from Luna’s lips. “Ginny,” she breathed. “Please touch me.”

Ginny looked up with a smile, tongue still fluttering over Luna’s pink nipple. “I am touching you.”

Luna whimpered. “Down there,” she said again. “Please.”

Not wanting to deny her, Ginny moved her hand lower and sucked in a sharp breath. “Merlin Luna,” she groaned, feeling the slick between her legs. “Already?”

“I’m sensitive everywhere,” Luna said, a pink flush high in her cheeks and neck. Ginny’s own clit began to throb as she pressed in gently, stroking slowly at first, trying to gauge what it was that Luna liked.

“Is this fine?” she rasped, nudging a finger in slightly before moving higher against her clit as Luna bucked against her hand.

“More pressure please,” Luna said, but feeling her like this was beginning to make Ginny desperate for something else.

“Can I go down on you?” she asked. Luna’s eyes widened a little bit but she nodded and Ginny wasted no time getting between Luna’s legs. Licking her fingers - _Merlin_ she tasted good - she flicked out a tentative tongue.

The resounding whine made Ginny very grateful that the flat was under Fidelius and every other magical ward known to wizardkind. Under any other circumstances, that was the sort of thing that would’ve had an angry neighbour rapping on the ceiling with a broom.

She pressed the flat of her tongue against Luna’s clit, revelling in the taste and letting Luna’s thighs bracket her head. Ginny didn’t care that she was more or less trapped between her legs. Her tongue fluttered over her clit before moving lower, nudging a bit deeper into her slick entrance, but Luna moved her head back up, words falling breathlessly from her lips.

“Can you - can you just focus on my clit right now?”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

Ginny stroked her tongue over the edge of her clit, smiling a little when Luna’s hips bucked up to meet her. She lapped at it, suckling gently and fluttering her tongue over the tip, feeling Luna’s nails drag across her scalp. Parting Luna’s cunt lips, Ginny dragged the flat of her tongue over her.

“Fuck - Ginny —”

Luna moaned and arched her hips up, pressing into Ginny’s face with the sort of desperation that Ginny was beginning to feel between her own legs. She was wet as sin and burning with need, burning with the desire to fuck Luna till they were both screaming, bodies moving against each other in breathless tandem.

Luna was soft and salty sweet and Ginny lost herself in the taste of her and the warmth of Luna’s thighs around her ears, flicking her tongue over her clit again and again and sucking as gently as she could. Luna’s fingers scrambled to hold something; failing to find a secure grip even on the longest part of Ginny’s hair, she fisted the sheets instead, white-knuckled and shuddering.

With one arm around Luna’s thigh, Ginny spread her lips wide and took her clit in her mouth, fluttering her tongue fast and hard right at the tip. Luna came with a scream so loud it was a miracle it didn’t bring the ceiling down. Ginny held her steady, keeping her pace till Luna had stopped shuddering, but even as she lifted her head and raised a hand to wipe her mouth, Luna was on her, pulling her up again. Hazy eyed and breathless, she kissed Ginny with a fervour that had her on top and Ginny underneath.

‘You taste so good,” Ginny whispered, letting Luna lick her chin clean before kissing her again, sloppy and almost unfocused. “You taste _so_ good. I could go all day.”

“I could go again,” Luna whispered, her breathing growing deeper and slower, her kisses more sure. “But I’d like to make you feel good first. How can I do that for you?”

Ginny smiled, stroking Luna’s cheek and kissing the corner of her mouth. “I feel good when I eat you out,” she said. “But ah… there’s something I prefer to use. We don’t have to bring that out right now.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Luna said. “I’m up for anything.”

“You sure?” Ginny said. Luna nodded and Ginny kissed her again, deep and hard before pulling away reluctantly. “Be right back.”

She rolled off the bed and hopped out stark naked, bounding to her room to fetch the pale violet dildo from her trunk. She’d packed it because she’d thought she might be fucking Romilda on her days off, but that clearly hadn’t worked out as planned.

Luna was lying on her back staring at the ceiling, but perked up when Ginny came in and shut the door.

“I uh… usually just charm it and it sticks,” Ginny said, holding it out a little shyly. “I like fucking my partners with it. But if you’re not comfortable with that we don’t really have to.”

Luna sat up to get a better look and then she laughed. Ginny was confused, more so when Luna leapt out of bed and ran to her own trunk.

“Look!” she exclaimed, digging into her things and holding an identical dildo aloft, pale violet and iridescent. “I got it when Wink Wink was having their sale a couple of years ago!”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. “Me too!”

And perhaps it was the sheer absurdity of owning the exact same sex toy, or the relief from finally being graced with a break in tension, they laughed and laughed till tears streamed down their faces, and then they fell into bed all over again in a joyful embrace.

“Ready for round two?” Ginny asked, and Luna, beautiful, beaming Luna, nodded and kissed her.


	25. Chapter 25

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Morning Edition_

**_STRONGER TOGETHER GOING STRONG:  
CORNELIUS FUDGE ENGAGES NEW VOTERS, ENCOURAGES YOUTH TO DO THEIR PART_ **

_Photograph by Colin Creevey_

**_(Please tap the photograph below with your wand to listen to the Minister’s closing remarks)_ **

_Despite a spate of anti-Muggle attacks and assaults on members of the wizarding community, Cornelius Fudge continues to soar in popularity polls. His speech and ‘stronger together’ slogan were well-received at last night’s rally for young wizards newly out of Hogwarts._

_“As Minister for Magic,” he noted, “it is my responsibility to keep up morale and assure you of your safety. As members of the wizarding community, it is your responsibility to elect officials that will ensure our collective safety, officials that have proven time and time again that they know how to raise a community from the ashes.”_

_Referring to the dark and uncertain days immediately following He Who Must Not Be Named’s downfall over two decades ago, the Minister also quashed rumours that similar times were approaching Britain once again._

_“Every society has moments of dissent,” he stated. “But it is up to us to make sure that we keep each other in check and keep each other safe. The best way to do that is by voting for experienced, long-term officials who have the requisite knowledge and expertise. Let us ensure that we remain stronger together.”_

_While the Minister’s other rallies have recently been cancelled over fears of safety, efforts are being made to ensure continued public engagement with the campaign. Further details will be circulated in tonight’s evening edition. Information pamphlets will be available at the Ministry of Magic at all hours, at the entrance of Gringotts Bank, the St. Mungo’s atrium, and all wizarding retail outlets._

_Further details of venues and times may be found outside Flourish and Blotts (Diagon Alley) The Three Broomsticks (Hogsmeade) and The Oaktree Tea Shop (Godric’s Hollow)._

_Candidates Amelia Bones and Peter Tuttle will continue to meet with constituencies this week._

**_The Daily Prophet continues to accept inquiries for the Stronger Together campaign at the cost of two Sickles per inch of parchment. All proceeds will go towards the running of the campaign._ **


	26. Chapter 26

Ginny hadn’t been this elated since her last winning match with the Harpies.

It was impossible to keep her hands off Luna from then on, though she’d eventually force herself into her bedroom after breakfast to let Luna get on with her work. Luna however, perhaps in need of a break herself, kept knocking on Ginny’s door so often that Ginny would eventually kiss her and pull her inside anyway.

It was bliss, a little haven for themselves hidden from anyone who might think to look. The ceiling plants began to creep across the house, following their tracks, some of them making a new home in Luna’s bedroom. Ginny would kiss Luna while they cooked together and they’d eat on the couch, limbs entwined, sometimes feeding each other.

It was bliss, yes, but Ginny knew it was the height of irresponsibility. Moody’s voice kept popping up in her mind but she tried not to listen, telling herself that as long as she stayed alert and ready, she could still make sure Luna was protected on the off chance that someone attacked. But even she couldn’t deny that it was hard to stay alert when Luna threw a dizzyingly gorgeous look her way.

When Luna began working again and discovered that she was short of some ingredients, Ginny knew she’d have to get them herself. She wasn’t about to risk taking them both out again. The first time had been stupid enough. Luna didn’t fight her on it, but Robards arrived late on Friday evening, which meant Ginny had to go down to the Cat O’ Nine Tails to find Lucretia instead of visiting the apothecary.

Diagon Alley was quiet at night. The Leaky Cauldron was full, and there was light and life in a few other pubs and eateries, but they were spread far apart. Most of the shops were closed, windows shuttered, lights out. Ginny tugged her cloak around her and hurried to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Shoppe where the entrance to the underground streets were.

Florean let her in with a smile. “I still can’t believe you don’t come here more often,” he said. “Considering half the professional Quidditch crowd is coming in and out.”

“You and me both,” Ginny said, squeezing into the space and hurrying down the rickety stairs to the wooden door. The space was illuminated by a torch set into the wall and the knocker was a brass flower that blossomed when Ginny tapped it with her wand. The door swung open and she stepped out.

Under Diagon was laid out just like the original above, with the ceiling enchanted to reflect the weather. Unlike at Hogwarts, any weather phenomena that happened above ground happened here too; Ginny had been caught in a few sudden downpours on her way back from the Ruby Red.

The first neon sign that flashed in her direction was a giant penis. Ginny snorted, peering down the rest of the street which boasted similarly bold storefronts. Every window was brightly lit in all sorts of colours, merriment filling its insides. Some were a more traditional yellow-orange glow of candles and lamps, quieter bars and cafes where people enjoyed drinks, some conversation, and maybe a nice meal and music. Other establishments spilled over with light in every colour of the rainbow; vibrant purples, lime greens, sultry reds, bright blues and everything in between, walls thumping with music bursting from the insides.

Ginny started walking, reaching into her pocket for the little map that Luna had drawn her, but as she approached the first corner, the purple sign for the Cat O’ Nine Tails club came into view. The logo was the same as the one on Lucretia’s card; a witch with cat ears and whiskers, licking her paws and holding a flogger.

Heart in her throat and an electric crackle underneath her fingers, Ginny bit her lip and pushed the door open. A few steps in and she was treated to a nice, brilliantly lit view of Lucretia’s pussy as she spread her legs on stage while balancing herself on one hand.

The crowd cheered, some shooting sparks out of their wands in enthusiasm. They fizzled harmlessly before they reached the ceiling. Ginny flushed hard. She _really_ wished she had Luna for company. Being here alone made her feel vulnerable.

Lucretia swirled around the glowing silver pole on stage and curtseyed to the raucous crowd, but as Ginny scanned the people around her, none of them seemed to be too concerned about keeping their expressions polite. Some of them were leering outwardly, while others looked appreciative. Some others looked absolutely delighted, faces shining as they cheered for Lucretia, who hopped off stage and began walking around the club, completely naked.

Most of the witches at the club were dressed skimpily, and those who weren’t were in Muggle clothing - suits, waistcoats and shirts, long evening gowns, what have you. There were little platforms across the expanse of the room - though the well-lit, large stage up front where Lucretia had been performing seemed to be the main area. The smaller platforms had other witches performing different types of sex acts, the variety and heat of which had Ginny blushing. She’d turned down plenty of invitations to check out the Cat O’ Nine Tails over the years because she knew she’d get too flustered to function.

She had definitely not been prepared for this.

_It shouldn’t be a problem_ , Luna had said, when Ginny had expressed her reservations about walking into the club by herself. Well, this _was_ a big problem that started with the flush in her cheeks and ended in the hot, throbbing ache between her legs.

Not knowing where to walk to get to Lucretia, she let herself get accustomed to the surroundings. A lot of people were watching the sex performances with varying levels of fascination - some called out suggestions, while others placed coins in the little baskets attached to the corner of each platform. As she started to get used to the atmosphere and the loud music, Ginny realised that no one seemed to be overstepping their boundaries. The audience kept their hands to themselves. Everything seemed to be completely in control, but open and experimental at the same time. None of the patrons seemed to be having sex on the main floor either, though Ginny spotted plenty coming and going through a back door that she assumed led to private rooms.

“Red Lightning!”

Her heart leapt. Ginny turned, worried that a fan had spotted her, but it was only Lucretia smiling bright and happy, with a dusting of glitter on her cheeks and lips. “You actually came.”

“Well, not yet,” Ginny said. Lucretia laughed.

“I like that.”

“I liked the end of your show,” Ginny said. “It’s all I saw though.”

“You’ll definitely have to come back for the full one then,” Lucretia beamed. Her silver-lined eyes were absolutely captivating, her body gorgeous with wide curves. Ginny’s face was on fire. She wished she could stick her head outside to cool down a little.

Reaching into her pocket, she handed over Luna’s list. Lucretia took it, pulling her wand out of the sparkling holster strapped to her thigh and with a murmured _Lumos_ , skimmed the contents.

“Hmm,” she said, brow furrowed. “I’ll have to poke around for some of these. Would you mind sticking down here for a bit? I think it would be fastest if I just rushed upstairs myself.”

“Uh, okay,” Ginny said. Lucretia whistled. A dark-skinned witch in purple robes with a heart shaped cutout over her chest appeared.

“Delilah, get her a drink on the house won’t you?” Lucretia said. “And don’t let Matilda near her, that’s a dear. I’ll be right back, but keep an eye on her.”

“Who’s Matilda?” Ginny asked as Lucretia grabbed a cloak from the hook near the door and scurried out. Delilah laughed. Her hair was in dozens of bright pink braids that fell down to her waist. Like Lucretia, her eyes were lined with silver, and she had glitter all over her face and neck.

“Long-time patron,” she said. “Big fan of yours. Come on, the good stuff’s at the back.”

Ginny followed Delilah further into the club, through the back doors that still had people coming and going. It led into a dimly lit corridor with a staircase at the end and doors placed at regular intervals. Delilah led Ginny upstairs into a slightly quieter bar area. The sign above the door said, NO DRINKING AND FUCKING.

“It’s for everyone’s safety,” Delilah said, noticing Ginny’s eyes flick over the sign. “We used to have a free for all bar situation, but we’ve had some… situations…” She grimaced and shrugged. “This was the easiest solution, but a stopgap at best. You want a drink, you get stamped, and you don’t get to fuck on the premises.”

“That’s fair,” Ginny said. Delilah motioned to the bartender, a grizzled looking witch with thick forearms and a shock of short grey hair that reminded Ginny of Professor Grubbly-Plank.

“What sort of drinks d’you like?” Delilah asked. “Firewhiskey? Butterbeer? Wine? Or are you more into mead?”

“I wouldn’t mind a Firewhiskey,” Ginny started, but before she could finish, Delilah had already spoken over her.

“Get her a Hell’s Bells won’t you Sue? On the house,” she said, grabbing Ginny’s wrist and waving her wand over it. A glowing neon green symbol of a cat began to pace back and forth over her wrist.

“I’ve got to check on something downstairs,” Delilah said. “But I’ll be right with you.”

“It’s fine, take your time,” Ginny said, pulling out a barstool and perching on it. “Thanks.”

Delilah gave her a double thumbs up before rushing back down again. Ginny looked around, wondering if anyone she knew was here. She couldn’t really recognise any of the patrons. The lights were brightest above the bar, but the couches and sofas set into the sides of the room were shrouded in shadow. There were couples kissing quietly, groups of witches talking and laughing, one lone figure by the end of the bar making clouds with her wand. Ginny watched the bartender dissipate the clouds with her own wand before picking up a couple of bottles.

A nervous sort of feeling crept into Ginny’s chest and stomach and she bounced her leg, hoping the drink would calm her down a little. It would’ve been nice if she had a book or something to read, or even someone to talk to, but she didn’t quite fancy making conversation with anyone, least of all the witch conjuring clouds at the end of the bar.

She turned around to get a better look at the room and came face to face with the one person she last wanted or expected to see. A drink clattered onto the wooden surface, glowing gold with sparks dancing on the surface, but Ginny’s attention was fixed on her ex-girlfriend.

“Hi Ginny,” Giselle said, the corners of her plum-lipsticked mouth quirking up. “It’s been a while.”

To that, Ginny couldn’t say anything at all.


	27. Chapter 27

Ginny grabbed her Hell’s Bells and gulped it down in one go.

Her throat burned like someone had lit a match and dropped it down her gullet as the drink had been swallowed. She spluttered, spraying Giselle with flecks of gold that the other witch cast a lazy _Scourgify_ over.

“You’re meant to sip that,” she said as Ginny coughed and gasped for breath, her tongue spasming and growing tight. “ _Anapneo_.”

Ginny’s throat cleared, but the sting remained. She took deep breaths through her nose, trying not to aggravate the pain, glaring at Giselle through streaming eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she croaked, every word feeling like knives ripping through her windpipe. “Thought you didn’t like going out much.”

Giselle shrugged a little, now quietly cleaning up the rest of the spill with her wand. Her dark hair was in a high ponytail, and she was in a flowing white off-shoulder top and pants so tight it made Ginny feel things she hadn’t felt in years.

“Nice to have a change of scene every now and again,” Giselle said, fixing her dark eyes on Ginny as she perched on the opposite barstool. “How’re you? Work keeping you busy?”

“Yeah quite.”

“I thought as much,” Giselle said, her precisely lined eyes growing dagger sharp. “You haven’t replied to any of my letters.”

Her anger flared like the Hell’s Bells she’d just choked on. “You’re not my girlfriend anymore,” Ginny snapped, “so I’m not obliged —”

“It’s only polite —”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about polite before breaking up with me after I spent six months with you at St. Mungo’s when nobody else in your family would.”

Giselle had the decency to look ashamed, but Ginny wasn’t looking to shame her. She’d spent a year trying to force a reaction out of her till Gwenog had told her to give her space. Now she was more than willing to give Giselle all the space she needed, and then some.

“I’m sorry,” Giselle said, gesturing behind her. “Could we go over there? It’s a bit quieter in the back and —”

Ginny shook her head. “Say it here,” she said. “Anything you want to say to me, you can say it here.”

Giselle fell silent. The bartender gave them a wary look but didn’t intervene, heading towards the cloud-conjuring patron instead. Frustrated, Ginny ran a hand through her hair, hating that there was nothing to grip onto. The feeling of being trapped on the ground hit her full force. She took a deep breath and exhaled in a whoosh, clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.

“You know you’re supposed to unclench and breathe slow when —”

“I know,” Ginny snapped. Giselle retreated. Her hand had been a few inches away from Ginny’s. For a single, excruciating moment, Ginny missed her the way she’d done when they’d first broken up. The feeling vanished as soon as it hit, but it left her reeling nonetheless.

She flexed her fingers wide and tried to slow her breathing down, inhaling deeper through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, staring at the top of the bar instead of looking at Giselle.

“I’m sorry,” Giselle said quietly. “That’s what I was writing to you about. I want you to know that I’m sorry about everything.”

It felt like someone was squeezing Ginny’s heart dry. Frustration bubbled up in her mouth but she gritted her teeth, refusing to let it spill. All she could think about were the years lost, the end of their relationship, the end of her career, the grief she’d dragged herself through.

“It - it was really complicated for me after I got sick,” Giselle said. “I thought I was going to die. I passed out and then when I came to again it had been weeks. I didn’t know how to handle that.”

Ginny glanced at her. Giselle was staring at the woodgrain of the bar, running her finger over a groove.

“I’m really sorry,” she said again. “I know you dropped everything for me - and you lost everything because of me.”

Ginny grunted and shrugged. “Quit on my own,” she said. “That’s not your fault.”

“I really am sorry love,” Giselle said, raising her dark eyes to meet Ginny’s and putting a hand over her forearm. “I owe you so much. You saved my life.”

“Well, Luna’s potion did,” Ginny said. Giselle shrugged.

“Mmm.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. An odd prickling feeling crept up Ginny’s neck. She wished Giselle would take her hand off her arm, but she didn’t want to pull away, worried it might make her stop talking.

“I know you must think I’m a bitch…” Giselle started.

 _Well, kinda,_ Ginny thought, though Giselle’s next words threw her off balance.

“… that I’m like this because I’ve been cursed so I’m predestined to be an awful —”

“Wait, what?” Ginny said. “That’s not what I’ve thought at all!”

“Oh,” Giselle said, but she looked so surprised that Ginny found herself baffled.

“Who thinks that?” she asked.

“A lot more people than you might think,” Giselle muttered. “It’s what some of the Healers were saying at St Mungo’s - you’d stepped out for a bit and I think they thought I was asleep…”

“What did they say?” Ginny asked.

Giselle took a breath. “Saying how people like me should be locked up and not let out into polite society,” she said.

Ginny’s blood was practically simmering with anger, but there was nothing she could do when she was sitting at a bar two years after the aforementioned incident had occurred.

“Well they’re wrong,” she said, fists clenching again. “Idiots say shit like that all the time, don’t bother with them.”

“I thought you’d think the same too,” Giselle said quietly. “Especially because I’d never told you that I was cursed. You found out only when it happened. I felt so bad about keeping it from you but I didn’t want to risk you not liking me.”

Ginny put a hand over her face and laughed in frustration.

“There’s nothing about you that I wouldn’t have liked or loved,” she said, shaking her head. “Nothing. All you had to do was let me. I loved you till you stopped letting me, didn’t I?”

Giselle bit her lip and Ginny thought about how her big dark eyes were still so beautiful, but they tugged at her heart in a more dangerous way now. It felt like she was being pulled into a frozen lake, ice deceptively thick around the edges, waiting to crack underneath her feet the moment she walked a bit too far. Her gaze was like frozen hands around her lungs, making her windpipe crackle with frost, squeezing her last breaths out in cloudy puffs.

“I really messed up with you,” Giselle said, now even quieter. “I was so scared of losing you - I thought - I really just…”

“Hey,” Ginny said, putting a hand over Giselle’s, pity suddenly flooding her heart, thawing it out. “It’s fine. Water under the bridge.”

Giselle still looked upset and Ginny tilted her head. “What is it?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Giselle said. “I just miss you is all.”

Ginny hesitated for a beat. She couldn’t exactly say she missed Giselle because she wasn’t quite certain that she missed her in the way Giselle seemed to be implying.

When no response came, Giselle pursed her lips. “How’ve you been getting on?” she asked.

“Work’s keeping me busy,” Ginny said. “Nothing to complain about.”

“Your friend is back in England, isn’t she?” Giselle said. “Luna Lovegood?”

Ginny frowned. It was an odd topic to bring up. Giselle’s tone indicated the same sort of protective wariness that used to lace her words when they used to speak about her. Ginny would’ve sooner expected a comment about Romilda than this.

“Yes, I suppose she is,” Ginny said, but then, remembering the conversation she’d had with Luna about the letters, decided to see if she could get to the bottom of it. “Hey,” she said. “Did you know if there was anything funny going on with my mail for a while? Cause apparently I was due to get a bunch of letters from her and they never reached me.”

“Cross-continental postage isn’t always reliable is it?” Giselle said, her gaze faltering for a split second, but Ginny caught it in a heartbeat. She knew Giselle too well to know when she was hiding something.

“What happened to my letters?”

“Nothing,” Giselle said, but this was even more suspicious. Ginny pulled away from her and glared.

“What. Happened.”

Giselle straightened her back, taking a breath. “I got rid of them,” she muttered. “Hers and yours both.”

“You _what_?”

For a furious moment, Ginny felt like she’d lost all her senses. There was a strange roaring in her ears, rendering all other noise foggy and distant. Her vision blurred and her hands began to shake. A hot, sharp numbness crept up her lungs, shooting through the rest of her body with such violence that she thought she’d keel over. Rage coursed through her whole body, whipping her up in a hurricane and carrying her far far away from rationality.

The bartender came to clear their glasses, which was lucky because Ginny had been ready to throw hers.

“D’you want anything else —”

“What the _fuck_?” Ginny snarled. The bartender retreated in alarm. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“I had to.”

“What the fuck could justify you getting rid of my mail?”

“You were clearly in love with her,” Giselle said, her chin setting in the stubborn way it always did when she didn’t want to back down. “You refused to see it, but you were.”

“I wasn’t!” Ginny yelled. People were turning to look but she didn’t care. “And even if I was, what the fuck did it matter? I was with you, I wanted a whole life with you - Merlin I wanted to fucking _marry_ you Giselle!”

People were turning to look, their conversations stilling as Ginny’s yells touched the peripheries of their little bubbles. The music played on merrily, and the room crackled with awkwardness.

Giselle glared at Ginny. “Every letter from her was about how she missed you and loved you —”

“You _read_ them?”

“How was I supposed to know you weren’t having an affair?”

Ginny burst out laughing, completely appalled. “You’re supposed to fucking ask!”

“You wouldn’t have told me even if you were.”

“You were supposed to trust me!” Ginny shouted, banging a fist on the bar. Someone at the end of the room flinched. Giselle didn’t bat an eyelash.

“How could I?” she said, voice dripping with bitterness. “You were _Red Lightning_. You could’ve become as big as Krum if you wanted to play for England —”

“Yeah because playing for a team with a scoring average of two goals per match is all I’ve ever dreamed about.”

“You don’t get it,” Giselle said, shaking her head. “You shone _so_ bright. I was terrified of losing you. I would’ve done anything —”

“I gave up _everything_ for you,” Ginny said. “I paid out of pocket to bring you back when your family abandoned you. I would’ve killed to bring you back from it, no regrets. You don’t know how it broke me to see you like that.”

Giselle looked cowed and guilty, but all Ginny was too angry to stop.

“You fucking abandoned me after I was willing to give up everything for you,” she said. “I can’t even trust people anymore, and that’s on you.”

“Ginny, love, please —”

“Sorry for interrupting.”

Lucretia squeezed her way between Ginny and Giselle, not looking very sorry at all. “There’s something I need to talk to Ginny about. Would you mind terribly if I stole her away?”

“Oh by all means,” Giselle said, all traces of guilt vanishing, replaced by a haughty look. It made Ginny’s heart lurch. She’d seen that look on her face plenty of times, never thought much of it, even gone as far as to make jokes about how hot she thought Giselle looked when she was ‘ _all smug like that_.’

Now it felt horribly, horribly devastating.

“We all know you’ve been waiting to sink your claws into her for ages now Lu,” Giselle said. “Not like you’ve been subtle about it.”

Lucretia didn’t grace her with a reply. She tugged Ginny’s sleeve and led her away from the bar. Glad to follow, Ginny walked away without a second look at Giselle. They didn’t speak till they were downstairs and at the very end of the corridor again, just by the door that led to the main room.

“You might want to reconsider getting back into that,” Lucretia said grimly, reaching into her robes and handing Ginny a crinkled package.

“Don’t worry,” Ginny said gruffly, taking the package from her and stowing it away in one of her cloak pockets. “That wasn’t on the to do list.”

“Good,” Lucretia said, giving her a stern look. “You could do a lot better. Give Luna my love.”

With a clap on the shoulder, she left Ginny behind in the corridor.


	28. Chapter 28

After a night of fitful sleep, Ginny returned to the flat, face beet red and burning, heart racing faster than a galloping Hippogriff. Her throat was on fire and her breaths came short, tight and painful.

She barely acknowledged Robards, digging out some finished paperwork and shoving it at him before he left. Even Luna poking her head out of her bedroom and smiling wasn’t enough to calm her down.

“I got your stuff,” she said gruffly, setting the package down on Luna’s desk harder than she intended to. Luna stepped closer, smile replaced with concern, a lock of hair falling out of her bun onto her face.

“What happened?”

The words tumbled out before she could think.

“I never got them,” she rasped through gritted teeth. “I never got the ones you sent me later, she got rid of mine too and I thought I was sending them to you, I had _no_ bloody idea Luna, I…”

“Who got rid of what?” Luna asked, frowning at Ginny. “What are you talking about?”

Ginny took a deep breath, trying to calm the angry rush of her mind. “Giselle got rid of the letters you sent me,” she said. “And she got rid of the ones I was going to send back. We – we used to send off our mail together in the morning. She’d handle it while I made breakfast.”

She trailed off. Luna only stared, her gaze peeling Ginny through, layer by layer.

“I am _so_ sorry,” Ginny said. “I didn’t think she’d be intercepting my letters. If I’d known —”

“No,” Luna said, walking towards her. “It’s not your fault so there’s no need for an apology. I won’t accept one.”

“Still,” Ginny said, clenching her fists to keep from boiling over with frustration. “I could’ve - I should’ve just —”

“Ginny,” Luna said quietly, taking her hands and stroking her fists with her thumbs. “Please don’t.”

For a beat, their eyes took in each other. Brown locked onto grey, no sound around but their heartbeats. Ginny stepped closer.

“We could’ve had… we could’ve stayed friends…”

“We’re here now,” Luna said firmly, as Ginny’s arms slid around her waist. The kiss was swift, hard, no hesitation between them. Ginny’s lips crashed onto Luna’s, desperate, yearning, _needing_ her like water, like air, like the friendship she’d been denied all these years. Luna’s arms snaked around Ginny’s neck and pulled her close, her fingers failing to find purchase in the short hairs on the back of her head. Her nails scraped down her scalp instead, making Ginny shiver.

“Luna…”

Her voice was barely a growl, scraping through her throat and grasping onto Luna, whose answering sigh was so beautiful it made Ginny ache. The space between their bodies burned with desires unspoken, desperate and frantic. Ginny wanted Luna hard, nothing like the gentle lovemaking they’d had. She wanted this hard, fast, and passionate, but Luna…

Ginny pulled away with a gasp. Luna’s cheeks were flushed pink and her lips were reddened and swollen from Ginny’s frantic nips.

“I’m sorry,” Ginny panted. “I - sorry, I’m just… I don’t know…”

Luna’s only answer was to kiss Ginny even harder than the first time. It was bruising, almost painful, teeth knocking against teeth, scraping over soft lips. Ginny cried out against Luna’s mouth, wanting her, craving her…

“Take me to bed please,” Luna whispered, and Ginny lifted her up and carried her into the bedroom.

They stumbled onto the mattress together, grasping for one another and pulling their bodies closer. The bed frame creaked and threatened to give way. Ginny raised her head, concerned, but Luna pulled her back. Clothes came off without care; something ripped but neither one of them bothered to look. Luna’ s nails scraped over Ginny’s shoulders and she moaned, pressing herself against Luna’s fevered body, flesh against soft flesh, passion cresting in a great and wonderful arc like a wave of phoenix flame.

With her bra hanging off one arm, Luna sat up. Ginny didn’t know why, but that was answered for her when she reached for the dildo on the bedside table.

“Please,” she said. Ginny needed no further convincing.

She pulled her boxers down and placed the dildo between her legs as Luna slipped her bra off and tossed it aside. Luna’s wand was nearest so she charmed it in place before straddling Ginny, who felt all her blood rush south.

Luna leaned in for a kiss again, her lips unfathomably sweet, a nip here, a bite there — _fuck_ she tasted luscious. Ginny’s hands traced the lines of Luna’s hips, squeezing her ass and thrusting up a little. The dildo slid between Luna’s thighs; Ginny could feel her pussy through the charmed silicone, slick and warm. Shudders of pleasure racketed through her body, threatening to wreck her before they’d even begun. Luna’s nails scraped over her shoulders and down her back and Ginny moaned, digging her fingers into Luna’s hips, sliding between her thighs.

Thoughts muddied with pleasure, Ginny traced her way down with her lips, trailing a fondly remembered path down her throat to her chest, tongue curling around a nipple and sucking. Luna arched with a whimper, pressing Ginny closer and shivering against her mouth. A gentle scrape of her teeth over the nipple had Luna gasping, and Ginny lavished the next one with eager enthusiasm, thumb circling the first and squeezing her breast.

The heat between Luna’s thighs enveloped the dildo, the slickness beginning to drip as she whimpered in Ginny’s embrace. Her eyes fluttered open and she pulled away with a gasp, grinding her hips down. Ginny groaned, bucking her own hips upwards to meet her, the friction between them sending sparks skittering through her core.

“Luna,” she rasped as Luna continued to grind over her, her lips now tracing a map over Ginny’s throat, collarbones, shoulders, stopping just over her breasts before looking up for permission. Ginny cleared her throat and nodded.

Luna’s kisses were tentative and careful, gentle over her areolas and her breasts. She flicked Ginny’s nipples between her fingertips just briefly before travelling lower over her stomach. Ginny appreciated that she hadn’t lingered, but the momentary stimulation had been welcome.

The lower Luna moved, the more Ginny had to stop herself from jerking her hips upwards. Fisting the sheets, she bit down on a groan as Luna wrapped her fingers around the dildo and smiled.

“Fuck,” Ginny breathed, her fingers diving into Luna’s hair, tracing her scalp. Luna hummed happily, flicking her tongue out over the tip of the dildo while Ginny stroked her hair. Her hips gave up resistance and moved of their own accord; she thrust into Luna’s fist with a quiet moan, a shudder rippling through her chest.

A broken whisper trembled through her. “Luna,” she said. “Please…”

But Luna seemed inclined to tease. She swirled her tongue over the tip of the dildo, dragging her lips over the sides and sucking at the base so close to Ginny’s skin that she thought she might black out. The sensations were strongest at the base, right where it fit over her clit, but everywhere else felt maddeningly good.

“Luna…” she begged, fingers curling in Luna’s hair, hips reaching upwards trying desperately to reach her mouth. Luna hovered just out of reach, a tiny smirk dancing across her lips and Ginny felt like she’d pass out from want. “ _Please_.”

“Alright,” Luna whispered, a tiny chuckle following her acquiescence. She closed her lips over the tip and took it in, making Ginny groan around the wet heat of her mouth.

“ _Fuck_.”

She trembled, thrusting upwards just slightly, her fingers tugging Luna’s hair in sheer desperation. Her other hand found the sheets, grabbing the soft cotton between her fingers in a deathgrip as Luna continued to blow her, sparks of pleasure skittering from the burning core between her legs. As Luna dragged her tongue down to the base of the dildo, Ginny’s hips bucked upwards.

“ _Merlin_ Luna, fuck…”

Luna’s tongue found its way to the very bottom, right where the toy met skin, flicking over Ginny’s clit and making her cry out. Her fingers tightened in Luna’s hair and she shuddered as Luna’s tongue fluttered over her clit and sucked gently.

“Luna - fuck - oh…“

As if it wasn’t enough that her infernally talented mouth was rendering Ginny’s mind to splinters, Luna began to stroke the dildo, running a thumb over the tip and squeezing it gently. Ginny bit her lip and tried not to scream, clenching her abs so that she wouldn’t come too soon. She didn’t want to, not without getting to fuck Luna first, but Merlin this was seriously testing her resolve. Little shivers of ecstasy ran like rivulets down her spine, every hair on her body quivering. She was swollen and throbbing in Luna’s mouth and every flick of her tongue brought her closer and closer to the gasping edge.

Just when Ginny thought she might pass out from the sheer pleasure of it, Luna finally lifted her head and straddled her again.

“Can I?” she asked, her fingers already between her own legs, the slick of it making it clear that she’d been touching herself all this time. Ginny nodded. She felt dazed, her heart thudding against her chest, eyes fluttering open. “Good thing this is self-lubricating,” was the last thing she heard before Luna sank down slowly on the dildo.

Ginny groaned, fisting the sheets to stop herself from arching into her and inadvertently thrusting too fast. Her heart began to race, shivers of desire fluttering through her as she felt Luna’s slick, soft walls around her.

“Wow…”

“Ginny,” Luna whispered, falling forward a little, and Ginny blinked the haze away, straightening up to hold her. Their lips met, a gentle touch that soon burned deeper as Luna pressed in harder. Ginny nipped her lower lip, pulling it between her teeth, eliciting a slow hiss.

“Does it feel good?” she murmured, her voice rumbling deep in her chest. Luna nodded, taking one of Ginny’s hands and placing it on her breast. With one arm around Luna’s waist, Ginny leaned in and took Luna’s nipple in her mouth, sucking and swirling her tongue around it.

“Touch yourself,” Ginny whispered, and Luna lowered a hand to her clit, rubbing it as she rode Ginny faster. Ginny sucked Luna’s nipple into her mouth and kissed the stiff peak before moving to the next and fluttering her tongue over it.

“Oooh, yes, keep doing that,” Luna gasped. “Keep doing that.”

Ginny swirled her tongue around Luna’s nipple, rolling the other one between her fingers and matching Luna’s speed as she thrusted into her. Moving away from her breasts, she slid a hand over Luna’s cheek and pulled her in for a hard kiss.

Luna whimpered against Ginny’s lips, digging her fingers into Ginny’s shoulder for support as Ginny moaned into the kiss, her heart racing as she felt herself grow hot around Luna. She could feel herself spiralling towards the edge; Luna had already brought her so close with her mouth and now with her pussy clenching around her, it felt impossible to hold off. Tensing her stomach, she tried to focus, pulling away a little.

“Does that feel good?” she asked. Luna nodded, frantically almost, her cheeks pink, lips swollen. Unable to resist, Ginny moved in again for another kiss, and another, and another…

“Can you feel me?” Luna whispered as Ginny brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “I’ve never used it to fuck anyone - I don’t know how it feels that way…”

“I can feel you,” Ginny panted, trailing her lips over Luna’s jaw and down her throat. Her skin was burning, and she could feel her blood thrumming as she scraped her teeth down the side. “You feel _really_ good.”

“You feel really good too,” Luna sighed, cupping Ginny’s face and kissing her again as she brought herself to the brink. “I think - I think I’m close…”

“Keep going,” Ginny whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Luna’s whimpers melted into louder moans, her nails digging into Ginny’s shoulder as she held on. Ginny kept one hand on Luna’s hip and another on her ass, squeezing it and kissing her breasts as she tightened around the dildo.

“There you go,” she whispered as Luna’s orgasm began to shudder through her body. “There you go - _fuck_ \- that feels good… you feel so good…”

Ginny wasn’t sure if she could hold on for much longer, but she dug her fingers into Luna’s hip and bit her lip, wanting to let her ride out her orgasm first, but Luna shuddered one last time and tilted Ginny’s face up. Her eyes were dark and intense, and her kisses were desperate against Ginny’s lips.

“I want to see you come,” she whispered, pushing further down onto the dildo and making Ginny groan. “I want you to look at me while you come.”

“Fuck,” Ginny choked as Luna reached down to touch her right at the base of the dildo. A strong shiver sparked through her centre and fizzled through her core, hips bucking into Luna’s fingers. Luna pressed her throbbing clit once, twice, rubbing in slow, firm circles, and then all of a sudden -

It washed over her like a tidal wave; Ginny felt it roil right at the base of her clit before it absolutely exploded over her. The tightness snapped, her body felt like it was falling to pieces. She bucked her hips with a loud moan, shuddering and holding tight onto Luna, lashes fluttering as her eyes rolled back, even as Luna held her gaze, steady and unyielding. Their lips brushed over each other’s, Luna’s teeth scraping against Ginny’s bottom lip, tongue flicking out for a cheeky lick.

The tide of pleasure began to recede; Ginny took a couple of deep breaths, her eyes closing despite her best efforts to keep them locked onto Luna’s.

Luna’s whisper seemed to come from very far away. “Wow… I think I actually felt that…”

Ginny cracked open an eye, chest heaving as she tried to get her breath back. “Yeah?” she said.

Luna smiled and nodded, giving Ginny a gentle kiss and touching her forehead against hers. “Was that good for you?” she whispered, running her thumb over Ginny’s bottom lip.

“So good,” Ginny murmured, still trembling a little, thoughts turning to jelly as a stupid grin grew on her face. “I could go again in a bit.”

“Mmm, me too,” Luna said. Sliding off, she snuggled up against Ginny, who held her close and closed her eyes.

The notion of ‘go again in a bit’ was quickly forgotten. Ginny had just enough energy to drag the quilt over themselves, and they both dozed off within minutes.


	29. Chapter 29

They woke up a few hours later and lay in each other’s arms. Ginny stroked Luna’s hair, brushing it out of her face while Luna traced patterns on Ginny’s freckled shoulder.

“How was your nap?” Ginny whispered.

“Very good,” Luna murmured, smiling when Ginny placed a little kiss on her forehead. “Yours?”

“Just perfect.”

They snuggled closer, drowsy and drifting, warm under the quilt. The ceiling plants rustled overhead, a couple of leaves floating lazily onto the bed.

“How was your day yesterday?” Ginny whispered, wrapping a lock of Luna’s hair around her finger.

“It was alright,” Luna mumbled sleepily. “Gawain had a lot of paperwork to finish so he did that while I read a book. Took some time off the potion again.”

“That’s nice,” Ginny said with a yawn. Blissful, comfortable quiet lapped against their minds, dragging them towards sleep again even as they began to inch towards waking.

“How did you find out about Giselle?” Luna asked, her fingers tracing over Ginny’s body and coming to a rest over her pendant. Ginny had been enjoying a leisurely return to full consciousness, but the memories of the previous day forced her back to alertness.

“I bumped into her at the Cat,” she said. “Lucretia went to get your supplies. I was waiting at the bar when she came up to me.”

“I see,” Luna said. “Are you feeling alright this morning?”

Ginny shrugged. “I guess,” she said. “I don’t know. I don’t really think I know how to feel right now.”

Luna snuggled in to kiss her. “That’s alright,” she whispered, twirling her finger around Ginny’s necklace. “You can take your time with it.”

Silence fell over the room again. Luna tugged at Ginny’s pendant, wrapping the necklace around her finger before untwisting it again.

“I knew she had a couple of jealousy issues,” Ginny murmured. “But nothing so bad as this.”

“People can surprise you sometimes,” Luna said.

“I feel dumb for missing it.”

“It’s not your fault,” Luna said, twisting the necklace around her finger again. “Distance helps clarity.”

Ginny frowned, thinking about what Demelza had said at dinner the other night, about how Ginny had never noticed those things about Giselle even when everyone else had.

“You’re not wrong to have loved her,” Luna said quietly, reading Ginny’s worries before they could even articulate themselves in her mind. “You’re not wrong to have not seen it. Maybe she just didn’t show it around you. People are complicated.”

“It’s making me feel all kinds of complicated,” Ginny sighed. “I thought I had better judgement.”

“Your judgement isn’t all bad.”

“I misjudged you,” Ginny said, pulling away, but Luna pulled her in and kissed her cheek.

“It’s fine,” she said. “We make mistakes sometimes. We just move on and try our best.”

“Are you okay with this happening between us right now?” Ginny asked. “I mean, I’m over Giselle, obviously, but we… I feel like we still have so much to talk about and I feel so muddled…”

“It’s okay if things are still complicated for you,” Luna said, kissing Ginny’s collarbone. “We can figure that out together.”

Another short spell of silence. The plants rustled a little more and Luna shifted with a yawn. Ginny trailed kisses over Luna’s forehead, down her nose, placing a last one over her lips before speaking again.

“Do people really think that people with blood maledictions are predestined to be some kind of awful?” she asked.

“I’ve heard people say that,” Luna said. “Not just here, in other countries too.”

“Oh.”

“I think it’s because it’s such dark magic,” Luna said. “You _have_ to have been involved in some sort of… well, _something_ , someone in your family would’ve had to have a connection to something really terrible.”

“But Giselle’s family’s very average,” Ginny said. “Regular people, simple lives. Her great-grandmother just happened to piss someone off.”

“That does happen fairly often,” Luna said. “It’s not Giselle’s fault she’s cursed. And she isn’t… well - if she’s not a nice person, that’s not because she’s cursed. It’s mutually exclusive.”

“She doesn’t seem to think so,” Ginny murmured.

“It’s normal for people to internalise these things,” Luna said. “It’s not right but it happens.” She sighed. “It’s a pity she thinks that way.”

Ginny chuckled. “Thought you didn’t like her.”

Luna shook her head. “I told you. I don’t know her so I don’t really have an opinion. But I don’t like what I’ve heard, especially about how she’s treated you. Even if it wasn’t my letters she’d gotten rid of, that’s not fair. It’s your post. No one should tamper with it.”

“I’m still sorry it happened,” Ginny said, kissing Luna’s hairline, feeling the baby soft hairs tickle her lips. “We could’ve stayed friends.”

“We’re friends now,” Luna pointed out.

“Well…” Ginny said, pulling away a little so she could look Luna in the eye. “Just friends?”

Luna blinked, eyes wide and earnest. “Wouldn’t it jeopardise your assignment?”

Ginny shrugged. “This is already a violation of my code of conduct,” she said. “I don’t think being your girlfriend would make any more of a difference.”

Luna’s lips tugged upwards. “Girlfriend,” she said. “You could be my girlfriend. And I could be yours.”

“Does that sound good?” Ginny asked. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be now. But I’d like to head in that general direction if you’re up for it.”

Luna beamed. “It sounds tempting,” she said. “Though I am worried for your job. I really shouldn’t have enabled this for the both of us, even if I wanted it too.”

Ginny sighed, her head falling back on the pillow. “You’re not the only one that enabled me,” she said. “I enabled me too. Besides, it’s a bit late for that now. We’ve been fucking all week. Even if we stop and wait out the rest of the assignment, I don’t think it’ll make me less detached.” She snorted, rolling her eyes. “I’d probably be so crazy for you I’d lose my mind. Then I’d be even less able to do a good job.”

“I’m still sorry,” Luna said. “I should’ve waited.”

“It’s not your fault, don’t apologise,” Ginny said. She slipped her fingers between Luna’s and squeezed her hand. “I don’t regret this,” she said. “I feel safe with you. I mean of course, physically…”

“You make me feel very safe too.”

“But more like…” Ginny frowned, looking for the words. “More like you’ve got my heart safe y’know? I don’t think I felt that way around Giselle very much. But I feel it with you.”

Luna smiled and gave her a kiss on the jaw. “Me too,” she said. “I like how I feel with you. I feel more content.” She sighed. “I haven’t felt this way since long before Daddy was attacked.”

“Oh?”

Luna nodded. “Since Mum died and it was just me and him, I was terrified he’d die too. I’ve been terrified for years and it almost happened and…” She shook her head. “You keep telling me that being with Giselle changed you. I think when they cursed my father, something died in me too.”

Ginny stroked Luna’s hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like.”

“I’ve been so afraid and so angry for years and years,” Luna said. “I’ve been trying to work through it but I feel so helpless.” She grunted, frustrated. “I made the cure to help people, but that put my father in danger. If I hadn’t made it —”

“It’s not your fault that your father got attacked,” Ginny whispered. “You’ve got to know that. Someone else did that to him. You didn’t bring it on.”

Luna’s voice had a little tremble in it. “It still feels so bad.”

Heart sinking in sympathy, Ginny gave Luna a tight hug. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

“I hate losing the people I love,” Luna said. “That’s why I collected everything about you, you know? You were the third person I ever loved, aside from my parents. I couldn’t let you go - I just… even when you stopped writing, I couldn’t let you go.” She swallowed. “Everyone told me it wasn’t healthy,” she said quietly. “Nisha. Lucretia. They tried to get me to move on from you.”

“Oh,” Ginny said, feeling like someone had run a blunt knife between her ribs. “I’m sorry – I…”

She sighed, shaking her head. Luna sighed too.

“Yeah,” she said. “But I couldn’t let you go. I know it was unhealthy, especially because we weren’t speaking, but I didn’t know how to let you go. And now…” She rolled Ginny’s pendant between her fingers, voice faltering to a whisper. “Now I’m afraid.”

“Of?”

“You leaving again,” Luna said, keeping her eyes on Ginny’s pendant. “I know you didn’t really ‘leave’ the first time, it was Giselle holding back your letters, but it still hurt. It still hurts now. I still expect you to stop suddenly. Disappear from my life. And I’ll be there wanting you _so_ much and I just…”

“Not going to happen,” Ginny said, pressing a kiss to Luna’s nose and on her lips too for good measure. “Wild Hippogriffs couldn’t drag me away from you. Doesn’t matter whether we’re girlfriends or not - we can work that stuff out. We have so much time.”

Luna snuggled in closer, her fist closing around the pendant.

“When Daddy was attacked, it made me realise how living through the war must’ve been like,” she said. “We were so lucky to be born after it. I didn’t think anything in my life could be as terrible as the old stories they used to tell… you know the ones you’d listen to when you were supposed to be sleeping and the adults would talk outside?”

“I remember,” Ginny said, having eavesdropped on several midnight conversation between her parents. She didn’t know a single family that had escaped unscathed; plenty of her of friends had lost someone during the war. Her uncles Gideon and Fabian had been killed along with countless others. Ginny had never gotten the chance to meet them.

The war had ended when the Voldemort’s curse had rebounded on himself in his attempt to murder Harry in Godric’s Hollow. Sirius and Remus had raised him in Muggle London to keep him safe, but Harry’s childhood hadn’t been the only one dominated by anxiety. Growing up, some of Ginny’s most vivid memories were of her mother exploding at anybody who refused to take safety measures seriously. Back then, she’d just thought her mother was overreacting. It wasn’t until Ron had been attacked that Ginny truly understood why their family clock had a location that read ‘mortal peril’.

She and her mother had been having a quiet dinner when his hand had ticked upwards. Dread like she’d never known had flooded every inch of her body, and she hadn’t really relaxed until months after Ron’s release from St. Mungo’s. It was the closest she could come to imagining what Luna must’ve gone through when Xenophilius had been attacked.

“I think it was stupid of me to think I’d never go through something like that,” Luna said. “I thought perhaps - because I wasn’t a Muggle… and because we were living in relative peace…” She sighed, shaking her head again. “It was a very stupid assumption to make,” she said. “It’s exactly the sort of assumption that’s making things so much worse now.”

“Doesn’t have to be a war on for things to be dangerous,” Ginny said. Luna nodded slowly.

“That’s true,” she said, curling up a little, her knees moving closer to her chest. Ginny put her arms around Luna, cradling her in her embrace, and Luna buried her face in her chest. It felt so natural to hold her like this, so safe and good.

“You know what made me the most upset about the antidote not working?” Luna mumbled into Ginny’s hug.

“What?”

“It’s what Mum was working on when she died,” Luna said. Ginny blinked.

“I thought your mother was working on a spell,” she said.

“She was,” Luna said. “A counter-curse for a blood malediction. She knew someone who was suffering from it. Thought she might try to find something to help and…”

She sighed against Ginny’s skin. Ginny rocked her a little, stroking her hair. “I’m sorry about that,” she said.

“It’s fine,” Luna said. “I’ll come to terms with it eventually.”

“But you’ve come so far with the potion,” Ginny said. “You managed to actually stave off the curse in your patients for a while.”

“I suppose,” came the answering mumble. Ginny kissed her head again.

“Why a potion though?” she asked. “Were you worried about experimenting with a counter-curse?”

“Partly,” Luna said. “But I got the idea from Lucretia.”

“Oh?” Ginny asked. Luna nodded, looking up.

“This is why I said that other people should get credit for the antidote too,” she said. “I was buying ingredients from her for the first time, and she asked me what I was planning on brewing and I ended up telling her about my work. We got to talking and I told her I was also experimenting with a counter-curse for blood maledictions, and she started telling me things and…” Luna chuckled and Ginny smiled. “I had to run up to Flourish and Blotts to buy some parchment to write everything down. Fifteen scrolls later I had enough information for a starting potion.”

“Fifteen!” Ginny balked, pulling away from Luna in her shock. Luna laughed.

“I still have them,” she said. “She wrote her own notes down too.”

“Wow,” Ginny said. “ _Fifteen scrolls_ … How long were you there for?”

“A while,” Luna grinned. “My hand was spasming by the end of it.”

“Fuck,” Ginny said. “Should’ve called me to help transcribe.”

“Your handwriting _is_ quite neat,” Luna mused. “I should have you help me with some of my notes. Sometimes I’ll scribble something down and I won’t remember what it is later, which is terribly dangerous when you’re experimenting…”

“Sounds like it,” Ginny said. “I’ll help you transcribe anything you’d like.”

“Lucretia thought a potion would work better than a counter-curse because a blood malediction runs so deep,” Luna said. “She said that the way a potion destabilises a magical ailment is different to a spell. Spells are better for acute problems like jinxes and hexes, but even the worst jinxes and hexes need potion-based antidotes, along with any counter-spells you’re using to heal.”

“I see,” Ginny said, her mind wandering freely through the web of information Luna had drawn for them. “D’you reckon a blood malediction’s like a werewolf bite, in a way? You can’t get _rid_ of it really, but you can keep it at bay by taking a potion regularly or…”

Luna sat bolt upright, almost smacking Ginny in the face. “The Wolfsbane!” she gasped. “Of course!”

Ginny stared, confused, but Luna only turned to smack a big one on her mouth before leaping out of bed. “Ginevra, you’re a genius!” she yelled.

“Am I?” Ginny said, climbing out of bed and following Luna into the sitting room, but Luna had already grabbed a fresh roll of parchment and was making frantic ink splattered notes. Chuckling quietly, Ginny left her to it, and went to make them both some breakfast.

> Image Description: Ginny and Luna lying nude in an iron-framed bed, partially covered by sheets. Luna is rolling on her side to grin joyfully over her shoulder at Ginny, who is looking fondly down at Luna. There are plants on each bedside table, and a wand and pink bottle are on the nearest beside table. End description. Art by RunSquidling.


	30. Chapter 30

**_THE HOWLER_ **

**_Reliable, unbiased, timely news, not sensationalist screaming_ **

**_SPECIAL EDITION_ **

**_Hippocrates Six still missing, Auror Office remains mum, Minister implies internal sabotage_ **

**_Romilda Vane_ **

_I rarely make it a point to include verbatim statements from the Daily Prophet in our paper, but this is a matter of national concern. Knowing that many of our subscribers no longer have the Prophet delivered to them, I have attached the most salient paragraphs of today’s evening edition here (specifically the statement released by the Auror Office)._

**As the bulwark of Britain’s Wizarding Defence, the Auror Office would like to reassure all concerned citizens that the matter of the Hippocrates Six is being dealt with swiftly and effectively. Though we cannot ascertain the motives or whereabouts of the perpetrators at this juncture, we would like to reiterate that this is a highly sensitive matter, and the release of any information may put the lives of the Six in further danger.**

**We hope that we will receive your continued support and cooperation as the Ministry of Magic ensures that all of us remain safe and protected.**

_The end statement made me wonder if the whole thing was even released by the Auror Office at all, or by Fudge’s campaign team._

_The Aurors’ continued silence is nothing new, but what’s far more worrying is Fudge’s implications of internal sabotage in his speech yesterday. While the Ministry has suspended his campaign travels in the name of safety, they released a special Prophet edition that captured a full speech in a series of photographs, available to listen upon wand-tap. It’s the first time a whole speech has been published in this form (there have only been excerpts previously), and I think I speak for everyone when I say that I’m very glad those photos don’t scream anymore._

_Fudge insinuated that certain factions of the Ministry were working against him to sabotage his campaign and high-profile investigations such as the Hippocrates case. While I’d love to brush it off as fear-mongering, a cheap tactic to get the public to rally tighter behind him, the implication that the Ministry is splintering along some deep lines is a concerning one. If different paths are being taken, how can we trust the Ministry to do what’s best for the public? How can we trust policies to be effectively implemented? How can we believe that our country can continue to run smoothly when the body responsible is in shambles? I’ve had sources from the Ministry revealing that the heads of certain departments no longer follow Fudge’s plan of action, ordering their staff to ignore directives or work around them._

_It’s precisely this sort of thing that makes it so infuriating that the Ministry of Magic no longer has an adequate check on its power. Reluctant to give up its wartime grip, control has been seized in subtler ways (the severe lack of free press is one of many problems). It is our public responsibility to keep the Ministry in check, and **we cannot do that without being adequately informed**. Read widely, speak to those with dissenting opinions, think twice about what you hear and say, and for Merlin’s sake, stop subscribing to the Daily Prophet or its affiliates. You’d get better news from a Flobberworm._

* * *

**_We at the Howler will always support independent journalism free from institutional bias. Our work would not be possible without your valuable donations, keeping us in print and allowing us to distribute to those who cannot afford to pay. Support us for a minimum of 5 sickles per month, easily deposited into the pouch accompanying each delivery owl_ **


	31. Chapter 31

Shacklebolt eventually managed to sort out a meeting with everybody, so Ginny and Luna bundled up and Apparated to Grimmauld Place on a Wednesday evening. Ginny kept her arms around Luna to keep her from falling off the front step, but that was mostly an excuse to touch her one last time.

“I’ll miss holding you,” she murmured, brushing the tip of her nose against Luna’s and thrilling at her laugh.

“It’s only for a few hours.”

“And I’ll hate every single one of them.”

Luna’s eyes sparkled as she chuckled. Ginny almost fell off the step herself.

They convened in the kitchen again. Some people were already there; Luna greeted Rolf with a smile and a hug and sat next to him, talking about ingredient shortages as though they were merely at a potioneers conference. Neville Longbottom sat next to Harry, pale and frightened and picking at his hangnails. Hermione sat on his other side, worn and tired, her hair collected into a neat bun at the base of her neck. Ginny sat next to her and gave her a one-armed hug.

“How’re you holding up?” she asked. Hermione hugged her back tight. Ginny could sense the faint trembling in her limbs.

“I’m alright. Just exhausted.”

“Is it good in your safehouse?”

“It’s very peaceful,” Hermione said, her voice worn and quiet. “I appreciate the quiet. I think I needed a lot of time to rest.” She glanced across the table and then back at Ginny. “You came in with Luna,” she whispered. “Are you guarding her then?” Ginny nodded and Hermione gave her a small smile. “Is it going alright? Both of you doing okay?”

“We’re fine,” Ginny said. “Have you been able to write to Ron? Let me know if you want me to deliver a letter or anything. I can get it to him, but I’m not sure if anyone has any parchment on them here.”

Hermione’s answering laugh was shaky. “It’s no problem,” she said. “We’ve been writing. Padma’s been very helpful.”

Ginny looked around the table. “Where is she anyway?”

“With Parvati in the drawing room,” Hermione whispered. The unsaid hovered between them; Parvati had been one of the Six that had been kidnapped, and she’d been found in a terrible state. She’d been carted off to a safehouse barely moments after being released from St. Mungo’s. Ginny wondered if she’d even had a chance to recover properly.

She bit her lip. “Padma should be guarding her,” she murmured.

“Best guards aren’t always the closest ones,” Moody said, jolting Hermione and Ginny out of their quiet conversation.

“But Parvati was kidnapped,” Ginny said. “Shouldn’t her sister get to be with her? Won’t she need emotional Healing? I know it’s dangerous for her to be outside, but isn’t her recovery —”

“You have to make some hard choices when you’re protecting people,” Moody said gruffly. “There isn’t always time to consider a holistic plan of recovery.”

“But she —” Ginny started, but Hermione squeezed her hand and she fell silent.

Eventually, the room filled in. Shacklebolt, Moody, Madam Bones, Robards and Tonks sat at the far right end of the table, close to where Ginny was, with everyone else scattered around. The Patil twins were seated across from Ginny. Padma had an arm around Parvati’s shoulders.

“Let’s begin, shall we?” Shacklebolt said, looking around the table at each of them in turn. “Thank you all for coming. We’re hoping that you’ll all be out by New Year’s —”

“You’d need a miracle for that,” Moody grunted. Next to him, Tonks grimaced.

“Sooner rather than later is the aim,” Shacklebolt continued. “Your Aurors have reported back on what you’ve told them, but we’d like to hear from you directly now.”

He looked around again. Parvati was trembling, covering her mouth with her hands. Padma whispered something in her ear, squeezing her shoulder. Next to her, Ginny noticed Hermione patting Neville’s back and tried to do him the courtesy of not looking.

Her gaze travelled across the length of the table. Luna was staring at her. Ginny shrugged and gestured at Shacklebolt, but Luna glanced at Rolf and then back to Ginny again.

“I'll start,” Hermione said, when no one else spoke. “Then, if the others have anything to add, they can...”

Most of the stories were similar; their houses had been broken into late at night or in the early morning. Only Hermione’s differed in this regard, having been assaulted while travelling back from work in the evening. Padma volunteered all of Parvati’s information while her sister sat petrified, staring at the table in wide-eyed silence. Neville didn’t speak either. The missing spectre of Penelope Clearwater hung heavy over all their heads.

As they continued to speak, Luna, Rolf and Hermione named a few Aurors as being responsible for their attacks. Hermione also raised her suspicions of Fudge’s involvement, but before she could elaborate, Shacklebolt spoke.

“Which of you did Burdock approach first?” he asked, while Tonks and Robards scribbled frantic notes on trailing scrolls of parchment.

“Me I think,” Rolf said. “Then Luna maybe.”

“Mine was the first cure they bought,” Luna said. “I don’t know if I was the first they approached.”

“Can you give us dates?” Shacklebolt said. Again, everybody spoke except for Parvati and Neville. Padma relayed what she knew as best as she could, but it was clear from her faltering story that there was plenty more that Parvati was holding in.

“Yes, that sounds about right,” Hermione said, when everyone had spoken. “I started tracking the dates after they attacked Ron and forced my sale. Luna was the first attack. Then Rolf, then me some years later, then Penelope I think, and Neville, and finally Parvati.”

“But why just the six of you?” Shacklebolt asked. “What about the rest of the Society?”

“I’m not sure,” Rolf said. “At first I thought it was because our cures were the most valuable, but then that didn’t make sense because Neville’s a Herbologist and he’s only cultivating certain fungi that I think only Parvati’s used in her potions so far…”

He looked over at Parvati to confirm, but she didn’t acknowledge him. Padma continued to try to soothe her, even as her eyes grew more worried. When Parvati refused to look up, Rolf continued.

“Then I thought, if they’re trying to make money off our work, then wouldn’t it make more sense to buy cures people need more often? Like everyone who was born with Effloresce Lung right after the end of the Great Wizarding War, and need to take two potions weekly for their whole lives or they’ll die if they miss a dose…”

An agitated buzz was crawling over Ginny’s skin. She sat on her hands, squirming and trying to calm down. Luna was listening very intently, eyes fixed on Rolf, but Hermione let out an irritated huff.

“But then I thought, d’you reckon it’s just us for a start? They’re going to get all the rest later?” Rolf said, tapping a finger on his chin. “But then, the rest of the volunteers aren’t exactly knee deep like we’ve been for a while.”

“Knee deep?” Madam Bones asked.

“We know our benefactor,” he said. “Sh - they’ve been directing us to cures we can formulate.”

They were back to the topic that couldn’t be discussed. Ginny realised (with a bit of an unpleasant jolt) that she’d completely forgotten to ask Luna about it. So much had happened since then; meeting her friends, seeing Giselle, her and Luna’s affair. Her first meeting at Grimmauld Place felt like years ago.

“And this is the person that recruited you into the Society?” Shacklebolt ask. “Do they tell you what to do? And you do as they ask?”

“Not really,” Rolf started, but Hermione, apparently fed up of listening to his entire thought process, cut cleanly over him.

“The Hippocrates Society has had a benefactor from the outset,” she said, rattling off her statement like she was reading a textbook. “They’re the true centre around which we organise. They recruit and lay out our ethos: to help and heal anybody in need of it. For most of our history, they’ve served as the administrative and financial arm, keeping us together as a group and aiding us with acquiring supplies that we can’t find or afford. Our current benefactor is more hands on, but I think it’s a coincidence that the six of us have succeeded in formulating antidotes or charms or - well in Neville’s case, cultivating plants - that they have discussed with us.”

“So you only work on what you’ve been told to work on?” Madam Bones asked.

“Not exactly,” Hermione said. “The Hippocrates Society is privy to centuries of experiments, some half-finished, some just seconds away from being perfected, and some, well… some are a lost cause. We’re already doing our own work when we join, but we gain access to other people’s research when we do. Our benefactor introduces research to us, sometimes by pairing us with people who can help, and sometimes just by talking about it with us.”

“So the benefactor manipulates you into formulating the cures they want, is what you’re saying?”

“That’s absolutely _not_ what she said and you know it,” Luna said, looking so furious all of a sudden that Ginny wondered exactly which nerve it was that Madam Bones had struck. Even Hermione looked slightly taken aback.

“Ms Lovegood, it is my responsibility to work out exactly what is going on here,” Madam Bones said. “If you and your colleagues do not give us adequate information —”

“Our benefactor just exposes us to existing research, that’s all,” Luna snapped. “They talk to us about it, they help us figure it out. They don’t tell us what to do, they don’t expect us to work only on what we discuss with them. Being part of the Society means having access to things that you wouldn’t normally have - ingredients, spells, contacts with experts. Being part of it helps our work move faster - nothing more, nothing less.”

A tense silence followed her words. Shacklebolt cleared his throat. “Ms Patil, Mr Longbottom, do you have anything to add?” he asked gently. Parvati looked like she was about to cry.

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” Luna said. “Burdock also tried to make me make an Unbreakable Vow.”

“Oh, me too,” Rolf said.

“Same here,” said Hermione. Neville made a sudden movement in his seat. Parvati whimpered. Ginny felt a sudden, sick feeling in her chest.

Padma gasped. “Did they make you do it?” she said, shaking her sister by the shoulders. Parvati clapped a hand over her mouth. There was a deafening scrape of wood against wood as she leapt out of her chair, almost knocking it over. She rushed out of the kitchen, Padma hot on her heels. They heard her shouting after her sister. The front door creaked open and slammed shut.

“Oh no,” Shacklebolt said. A strange new voice filled the house with furious yells.

“FILTHY MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD-TRAITORS, SULLYING THE HOUSE OF MY NOBLE BLOOD —”

“Argh shit,” Tonks said, scrambling out of her chair. She and Robards rushed outside while the rest of them screwed up their faces over the din.

“Auror Jordan,” Shacklebolt said, with a surprising amount of calm. “Would you please escort Mr Longbottom to the drawing room?”

Celeste nodded and motioned for Neville to follow her. Ginny’s heart dropped at the sight of his face, so pale he looked ghostlike. Shacklebolt sighed, putting a hand over his face.

“I think Neville and Parvati were forced to make the Vow,” Rolf murmured.

“It would seem so,” Shacklebolt said. “I did wonder for a while. Auror Jordan and Auror Boot kept mentioning that their charges insisted that nothing had happened - despite all the evidence to the contrary. This makes the matter quite clear.”

“Will they be alright?” Ginny asked. Shacklebolt nodded.

“As long as they don’t speak about it or allude to anything happening,” he said. “But I do not think it’s wise to continue bringing them into more meetings where they could unwittingly say or do something that could put their lives at risk.”

“I don’t really understand why they want us silenced so much,” Rolf said, agitation clear on his freckled face as he tried to make himself heard over the yells still coming from outside. “And why they’re forcing everyone. If we don’t want to sell, why can’t they just leave us alone?”

“It sets a precedent, at least in the public eye,” Shacklebolt said, pinching the bridge of his nose with a quiet groan. “As far as people is concerned, you’re all rolling in it. Next time someone wants to produce a cure for something, they’ll do it because they want the gold and sell without blinking.”

“Healing potions and charms are essentials,” Madam Bones said. “It’s guaranteed to bring in a profit.”

“Not when people can’t get the gold!” Ginny started, but Madam Bones shook her head.

“When it’s life or death,” she said, “people will do anything.”

“And this is all being orchestrated by Fudge’s people then?” Rolf asked.

“It would appear so,” Madam Bones said. “If not Fudge himself then at least the people around him.”

“Fudge sways with the wind because he doesn’t have the guts to look the other way,” Moody said.

“I’ve known he was mixed up in some dirty money for a while now,” Madam Bones said. “It’s how he funded his last campaign. I didn’t quite think to link it back to Burdock until a few months ago. Him and the Malfoys and the rest of the pureblood circle —”

“Death Eaters you mean,” Moody said gruffly. “You can’t expect a Nundu to change its markings. Voldemort’s gone but enough people still believe his ways. They didn’t want to admit it the first time around because of all the killing, but it’s been long enough for people to start forgetting what happened.” He shook his head and looked around the table. “You lot weren’t even born when he was at his height,” he said. “And you barely know the weight of it. There’s not a family alive that hasn’t lost someone in the war. A generation has grown up completely ignorant because we’ve been too careless about making sure it wouldn’t happen again.”

“People have said some concerning things at Ministry over the years,” Madam Bones said. “Nothing explicitly anti-Muggle of course, but how many steps is it really from ‘pro-wizard’ to ‘anti-Muggle’?”

“But why?” Ginny asked, trembling with fury. “Why’re they doing this?”

“It’s plain old prejudice is what it is,” Moody said. “You’d be surprised at the lengths people would go to protect themselves from a threat.”

Ginny was suddenly reminded of Giselle’s admission about getting rid of the letters. Her fury heightened.

“But Muggles aren’t even a threat to us!” Harry exclaimed. “Some of them are our families - what are we gonna do, chuck all the Muggleborns out too?”

Shacklebolt, Moody and Madam Bones didn’t say anything, but their lack of a response was far more worrying. Ginny didn’t want to dwell on the implication. She wanted to hold tight to the idea that no magical person in the right mind would let such a thing happen, but it was happening right in front of their eyes.

“People have forgotten what led to the war,” Moody said. “It was this - exactly this, for years and years. Hundreds of people believing these things, more or less going along with Voldermort’s early agenda before all the killing began, thinking they’d be fine, they’d be safe, that they’d be left alone because their blood was pure enough.”

The screaming woman outside finally fell silent. Ginny’s ears felt heavy with relief.

“You’d be surprised at how quickly ‘anti-Muggle’ can become ‘anti-anybody suspected to have a drop of Muggle ancestry’,” Madam Bones said. “A slow and non-violent encroachment is more effective than war. Fudge has his faults, but he knows the game he’s playing - or at least, the people funding him do. They’ve been at this for a long time.”

“What if he wins the election?” Ginny asked. “What happens then?”

“We keep fighting,” Madam Bones said, but Ginny couldn’t find any reassurance in that.


	32. Chapter 32

Ginny and Luna left Grimmauld Place in much bleaker moods than they’d arrived. Their happiness seemed childish now, irresponsible almost. The others were struggling away from their families. Parvati and Neville were trapped in the curse of the Vow, unable to speak for emotional relief, let alone to give anybody sufficient evidence, and here Ginny and Luna were, playing house.

“Urgh,” Ginny said, dropping down to the couch when they got back. Luna curled up into her arms and sighed.

“I feel awful,” she said. “Poor Parvati and Neville.”

“Yeah,” Ginny murmured, stroking Luna’s hair. “That’s a rough situation to be in.”

“There has to be some way to reverse the Vow,” Luna said. “Perhaps with the caster present - I don’t know - there just has to be…”

Ginny let Luna mutter probable solutions into thin air even though both of them knew it was a lost cause. “I’m sure if anyone figures it out it’ll be you,” she said.

“Maybe I’ll write to Nisha,” Luna said. “She might know something.”

She didn’t move, snuggling closer into Ginny’s arms instead. Ginny hugged her tight. “I’ll make sure you’re safe okay?” she said, kissing Luna’s head. “If anyone wants to get to you they’ll have to go through me.”

“I’m worried about Daddy,” Luna said.

“Shacklebolt said they’ll be putting wards on your families’ homes,” Ginny said, thinking back to the hurried debrief the Aurors had just had. “To be fair we should’ve done that at the start, but better late than never.”

“I’m worried about him being alone,” Luna whispered. “It’s always been the two of us. Except when I was away for a while, but I always meant to come back to him. I wrote him all the time. Now I don’t know when I’ll see him again.”

“It’ll be soon, hopefully,” Ginny said. “We’ll figure it out and have you out of here.”

“But what if Fudge wins the election?” Luna said. “Then I’ll be trapped here forever.”

Ginny didn’t know how to respond to that. She didn’t want to give Luna false hope. The likelihood of Fudge winning again was pretty high, even with so many people throwing their support behind Madam Bones.

“If it comes to that,” she said. “I’ll find a way to keep you safe with your father. We can arrange something else - _if_ it looks like this is going to be permanent. It won’t be though. I won’t let it.”

“You’re only one person.”

“One person absolutely capable of being the most stubborn little git you had the misfortune of meeting,” Ginny said, kissing Luna’s head again. “I promise I’ll keep you safe, Luna. You and your father. I’ll figure out how to get the two of you living in the same place again. This won’t be forever.”

Luna’s arms snaked their way around Ginny’s waist and she buried her face in Ginny’s chest. “Thank you,” she mumbled. Ginny stroked her hair, brushing it away from her face.

“You don’t have to thank me,” she said.

“I do,” Luna said, looking up with that wide-eyed gaze that so easily disarmed Ginny. She straightened up a little and kissed her, softly first, but then harder. Ginny groaned, arching into her and pulling her close.

“Luna,” she whispered between kisses. “Are you sure…”

“I just need to feel you,” Luna said, her lips fevered and frantic. “Just let me feel you, please?”

Ginny needed no convincing.

* * *

Tension wrapped around the flat like a ward ready to be tripped. Even as they settled into their routine again, it wasn’t quite the same. Luna was a little shakier, dropping her wand so frequently that Ginny took over the cooking for fear that she might burn or cut herself. On the other hand, Ginny had taken to tossing the broken Snitch wherever she went, but the constant glint of it in the air put Luna on edge. Both of them tiptoed anxiously, unable to relax, unable to slip back to the bliss of the week they’d just enjoyed. Ginny didn’t know whether it was a good thing or not.

Some days were good though. They’d found a broken wireless in Luna’s trunk and spent an evening listening to old Celestina Warbeck songs cracking through the speaker. Ginny blew bubbles from her wand and conjured little fairies, children’s tricks to distract Luna, who smiled and painted sparkling patterns between her spells. Nights were spent entwined in each other’s arms, holding tight to the scraps of peace they could find.

When a pop sounded outside the front door one afternoon while they were cuddling on the couch, Ginny almost hurled Luna off her in her haste to leap away before Robards walked in.

“Tonks wants to see you,” he said, shaking raindrops off his cloak.

“What for?” Ginny asked, trying to look nonchalant. Behind her, Luna brushed herself off slowly, perching on the arm of the couch and crossing her legs.

“Wouldn’t say,” Robards said. Ginny’s stomach lurched. She looked at Luna whose face was furrowed in quiet worry. A string of unspoken sentences hung between them.

With no space to say a proper goodbye, Ginny dressed quietly and left the flat with a thudding heart. She hoped no one had been attacked. Her brain kept playing ugly scenarios of finding her family hurt, or even something happening to Xenophilius.

She Apparated into the Ministry Atrium and paused to take a few deep breaths before heading to the office. Tonks wasn’t at her own desk, but Ginny found her waiting at hers. Her hair was no longer long and blonde but short and pink once again, but her usual smile and mischievous expression were absent. Ginny’s stomach twisted.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Tonks gestured to Ginny’s chair. She sat down slowly, palms sweating.

“Heard down the grapevine that you were seeing Lucretia Agarwal,” Tonks said. Ginny grimaced.

“Did you?” she said, wiping her palms on her robes. “Lots of rumours out and about.”

“I did,” Tonks said grimly. “And I would’ve congratulated you on landing a new girlfriend if you’d only been gallivanting about with her on your days off.”

“And we have proof that I was gallivanting about on another day?” Ginny asked. Tonks looked completely unimpressed.

“I’m giving you two seconds to own up,” she said. “We both know I know that you were out of the safehouse on a day you weren’t meant to be.”

“Luna needed ingredients,” Ginny said, lowering her voice. “She insisted and I —”

“You could’ve gone on your day off,” Tonks said, quiet but firm. “Ginny - look I’m not going to tell Robards or Shacklebolt, or Merlin forbid, Scrimgeour, but you understand just how serious this is don’t you? Anything could’ve happened to her.”

“The Fidelius would hold,” Ginny said, sweating through her lie. “Besides she really - she was seriously pissed off, I had to take her —”

A second after the words left her mouth, she gasped. If Tonks looked unimpressed earlier, she looked downright furious now.

“You WHAT?”

Ginny quickly cast a _Muffliato_ around them, but Tonk’s face was pink with anger.

“Ginny what the hell?” she hissed. “Fleur’s the one that saw you, you know? On a bloody Wednesday afternoon! She forgot to mention it till yesterday when we were talking about the anti-Hippocrates protests. And now you’re telling me you _took_ Luna out with you? Where’d you leave her while going around with Lucretia?”

“It was Luna the whole time,” Ginny said dully, giving up on the pretense. “Our disguises came undone at Lucretia’s apothecary, so she made Luna take Polyjuice to get the rest of her shopping done.”

Tonks’ face was turning alarmingly pale. Ginny had never seen her this angry before. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Tonks shook her head. “I’m still not going to tell anybody,” she said.

“Thank you,” Ginny said, but Tonks held up a hand.

“That’s because if Shacklebolt or Robards knew, they’d have you assigned to desk duty for the rest of the year,” she said quietly. “And that’s going to tip Scrimgeour off that something’s the matter. He won’t hesitate to boot you off the force for good. And he _will_ find out Ginny, if the others do, so you best bet we’re not telling _anybody_. We don’t have enough trustworthy Aurors to go around right now, we can’t afford to let you go.”

Ginny gulped. “Got it.”

“But I am going to need you to take some time off after this assignment,” Tonks said. “You’re entitled to it. Even trainees and junior Aurors are entitled to fair leave. You haven’t taken any time off since joining.”

Ginny’s mind began to fill with buzzing static. She blinked. “You’re suspending me.”

“More or less,” Tonks said. “But we’ll tell people it’s the stress of this assignment that’s done you in. I need you to stay out of work for a month before coming back, and then we’re going to talk about whether or not this is the right career path for you.”

The static gave way to complete silence. Ginny’s heart stilled. “You’re going to kick me off the force?” she whispered.

“Don’t misunderstand me,” Tonks said, though her tone was a gentler now. “I’m not going to force you to leave, and I’m not going to push you to do it either. I just need you to take some time to think. If you decide to stay, I’ll still keep you on under me, but I cannot have you fucking up this badly again.”

“I won’t.”

“You’re one of the best we’ve taken on Ginny,” Tonks said. “You’re not completely perfect but you have the drive. You work on your weaknesses and fix your mistakes.”

Ginny’s mouth was growing dry. Her breath came in short spurts, palms sweating in desperation. “I’ll fix this, Tonks I swear.”

“When you take your month off,” Tonks said, speaking over her. “I need you to think about whether this career path is worth it for you. The consequences of mucking up here aren’t like in Quidditch - and don’t get me wrong, I’m not trivialising Quidditch. We both know I fucking love the sport.”

Ginny nodded, too worried to speak.

“But I need you to know if your heart’s in this,” Tonks said. “You can be the best Auror we’ve ever seen, but if you’re not dedicated, it’ll burn you out. Mistakes here can cost lives. It can cost _you_ your life if you’re not careful. This work’s harder than most.” She gestured at herself. “I do it because I love it, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world. I know you’ve got a good heart and you want to help people, but you can’t run yourself ragged with this. It’s not worth it. You’ll be doing a lot more harm in the long run.”

Ginny swallowed the growing lump in her throat and nodded again. Tonks sighed.

“I’m sorry, Ginny,” she said. “But it’s important that you know where your priorities are right now. You can’t let things with her - whatever’s going on, I’m not going to ask you about that - but you can’t let it interfere with her safety. I know it sucks to keep her locked inside all the time but in case you’ve forgotten, her life’s in danger.”

“I know.”

“We don’t know if someone’s going to go in for the kill the next time any of your charges so much as looks out a window,” Tonks said. “For as long as this assignment takes - and I’m not giving you any other cases - you need to give it a hundred percent. Can you promise me that?”

Ginny’s heart felt like it was crumbling to dust. She nodded, even though the weight of her heartbreak weighed so heavily she felt like she’d never move again.

“I promise,” she said.

“Good,” Tonks said, patting her shoulder. “Go back quickly, Robards needs to get here as soon as he can, he’s got something else to attend to.”

Ginny got to her feet, feeling completely weighed down. Her body resisted every step. She didn’t even know if she was in the right frame of mind to Apparate safely, but screwed up her face and gave it her best shot anyway.

She managed to arrive without splinching herself and dragged herself inside. Robards took off like a shot, but the bang of the door felt like a blade cutting through Ginny’s very being. His Disapparition made her feel like a noose had tightened around her neck.

Luna was on the couch, hugging a cushion, giving Ginny a wary look. “What is it?” she asked.

“Tonks found out,” Ginny rasped. “About us. That I took you to Diagon Alley to get ingredients.”

Luna scrambled to her feet. “I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed. “I - it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

Ginny shook her head, trying to smile, but her lips only wavered at the edges.

“I shouldn’t have given in,” she said. “A better Auror wouldn’t have.”

“You’re a good Auror, Ginevra,” Luna said, taking a couple of tentative steps towards Ginny. “You’re brilliant, you —”

“Tonks is suspending me after this assignment,” Ginny said, her voice scraping against her throat as she pushed the words out. “The only reason she didn’t do it now was because they don’t have someone they can trust to replace me.”

Luna clapped a hand over her mouth. “Ginny…”

“She says she wants me to reevaluate my career decisions,” Ginny said, feeling like someone else was reeling the words out of her. “That I need to think about whether this is right for me.”

She laughed, dry and humourless. The plants were stock still over their heads.

“Ginny, I’m so sorry,” Luna said again. Ginny shook her head.

“She’s not wrong,” she said. “I don’t think this is the right fit for me. And being an Auror means you have to be nothing less than completely dedicated. A fuck up can cost someone’s life.” She swallowed around the growing lump in her throat. “I walked you right into a protest full of people that hated you. I don’t know what they would’ve done if they’d known it was you under the Polyjuice.”

Luna rushed towards Ginny, throwing her arms around her, but Ginny squirrelled out of the hug like she’d been burned.

“Luna,” she said, her voice breaking. “I can’t. I’ve got to - I promised Tonks I wouldn’t fuck it up and… if we keep doing this… I _am_ going to fuck up.”

Luna looked like she’d been slapped. There was no colour in her face. Her eyes were fixed on Ginny in an unnerving gaze.

“Every time I look at you, everything else fades to black,” Ginny said, as though saying all of this would somehow justify the way she was driving the knife through their hearts. “When you’re talking to me, I can’t hear anything else. When you laugh, I’m…”

She shuddered, shaking her head. Luna was very still. The plants rustled above, but it wasn’t till they began to writhe in a bigger mass than usual above the couch that Ginny realised they’d withdrawn from every other place in the flat that had been touched by their love.

Her eyes stung. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I just… I’ll be inside if you need me.”

She rushed into her bedroom and spelled the door shut before the first sob broke out.


	33. Chapter 33

They returned to their separate existences exactly the way they’d begun, but this, Ginny thought, was much worse. At least at the beginning there had been a little friendliness, a thread of connection reaching over shared food and polite morning conversation. Now they kept to their rooms, managing by some miracle to not bump into one another - though this was seemingly no effort on Luna’s part, given her possession of an attached bathroom, a luxury Ginny didn’t share.

For a day or two, Ginny wondered if Luna was eating at all. She contemplated leaving food outside her bedroom door, but the presence of a washed pan by the sink one night was enough to put that worry to bed. The plants rarely moved, having retreated from all the crevices of the apartment into their designated pots. The ceiling vines hung in a singular mass above the couch, no longer flowering or shimmering. The stars that Luna had hung up had all blinked out.

When she and Luna had begun sleeping together, it felt like they’d been suspended in honey, amber-coated and sweet, making them treacle-slow and sticky with happiness. This was the opposite of that, a cold and airless limbo, time pushed beyond the limits of human comprehension, month-like hours heaving against the frail edges of a day. Sleep brought no relief and waking sharpened the ache.

Ginny tried to keep up with her paperwork, but her mind wandered places she didn’t want it to go. If there were wards for thoughts she would’ve cast them, but she had to rein them in herself. Her limbs ached to fly, to leave everything on the ground and soar the starlit skies, but there was nowhere to go except her cramped bedroom where her pacing had worn a path in the thin carpet.

Friday brought the relief of leaving as Robards came to give her the day off, but Ginny wondered how Luna would find a reprieve. All she could think of was their final conversation; Ginny taking a bat to their hearts, and Luna stilling like she’d been hit with a full Body-Bind. At least she had a day’s break, a change of scene to stop thinking about it, but Luna had to sit with the memories alone.

If Ginny hadn’t started anything, if she’d kept her distance, kept to herself…

She didn’t really want to spend the day at work, but the last thing she wanted was for her reports to pile up. Under normal circumstances, she could rush through them after an assignment, but Tonks had taken that choice away with her pre-emptive suspension. She was so distracted on her way to the Ministry that it was a marvel she didn’t splinch herself.

Shacklebolt had told everyone to keep submitting basic progress reports to keep Scrimgeour happy, and to keep a nondescript paper trail in case anybody came looking, though they were under strict instruction not to include the new details of the Hippocrates case. Ginny’s latest weekly report was tearstained and illegible, the only evidence of what had really happened. She knew she had to rewrite it before filing, even though the gist of it amounted to little other than ‘ _stayed in the flat, nothing happened_ ’.

_Nothing happened_ \- she could laugh. _Nothing happened_ \- as though she hadn’t ripped her own heart and Luna’s with it and cannibalised them both.

A rap on her cubicle walk shook her out of her thoughts. Harry was smiling at her. Ginny tried to return it, but her lips stretched in more of a grimace. “Hey,” he said. “Day off?”

“Yep,” Ginny sighed. “Lots to sort out though. I’m drowning in paperwork. I didn’t know it was your day off.”

“Change of schedule,” Harry said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Um, I dunno if Robards has gotten round to telling you yet, but he’s got another assignment, sort of urgent, and he asked if I could relieve you next week instead of him.”

Ginny had just dipped her quill into her inkwell when Harry murmured something. She looked up to ask him to repeat it, but a strange lightness brushed the edges of her mind. “Um,” she said, as her thoughts receded, everything growing perfectly, beautifully blank.

First to go was the whole mess with Luna, curling away into oblivion. Next was her job, and everything about the Hippocrates case. She didn’t know why she was holding a quill and working on a splotchy report.

“Sure,” she found herself saying, even as an odd, nervous prickling crept up her arms and through her torso. “No problem.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to catch him before he leaves for his assignment,” Harry said. “Could you give me the address to your safehouse?”

Ah, the case. Her job. Luna Lovegood, who she was meant to be guarding.

A few facts came wooshing back to mind, settling pleasantly amongst the calm lack of thoughts. But even under her empty-headed bliss, Ginny’s suspicions went from needling to stabbing. It felt like she could hear alarms blaring from very far away, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Harry was up to par, but entrusting Luna’s safety to someone else after all this time seemed a little unwise. After all, she _had_ been working the case for weeks. Harry was supposed to guard somebody else. It would be best if everyone just did their jobs – wouldn’t it?

_Give me the address_.

“Okay,” Ginny said, and opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t make their way out. She tried again, trying to form the words, but nothing left her lips.

_The Fidelius won’t let you speak_ , she found herself thinking, but just like the alarm bells, this thought came from very far away.

Ginny shook her head to try to get her wits about her.

_Give me the address._

_I can’t though_ , Ginny thought, frowning at her parchment.

_Give me the address, or take me there_.

Her legs moved of their own accord. She found herself standing, motioning for Harry to follow her. They walked out of the office, into the clanking lifts, and to the crowded Atrium. Jostling between people, Ginny tried to get to the general Apparition point, but as she squeezed between a slow-moving wizard, and a witch holding a towering stack of boxes, she tripped.

The boxes went flying. Clouds of green smoke billowed out of the boxes the witch had dropped, and Ginny teetered on her feet, trying to regain her balance as the room came into focus around her. What was she doing in the Atrium again?

_Take me to the safehouse_.

Right. Harry.

Ginny hurried to the Apparition point, clung onto his arm and Disapparated.

They appeared in the corridor in front of Luna’s flat, but the discomfort Ginny had been feeling earlier began to prickle through her stomach. Harry looked around the corridor.

“Which door?” he asked. Ginny could only shrug. The prickling became a clawing, which turned into a screaming cry for help.

“Try all of them,” she found herself saying.

_Tell me which door_.

Ginny frowned, shaking her head, heart racing. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “It’s not because I don’t want to. I think we have to…”

_Ask Shacklebolt_ , was the end of that statement, but something told her it was a very bad idea to vocalise that. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. Harry looked frustrated.

_Tell me which door_.

“Ginny, I don’t exactly have all day,” he said, but Ginny shrugged again, even as her gut twisted in an anxious frenzy.

“Sorry,” she said, as a new idea began to worm through the blankness of her mind. Taking a couple of steps towards the door – the one Harry kept missing as he walked past – she shot a hex at it. It fizzled out harmlessly, as she expected, but what mattered wasn’t the attack, but who it drew out. Her thoughts began to crackle, the alarm sounding louder, closer…

It took a few minutes for Robards to emerge, but when he did, it was with his wand held high up in front of him. Harry didn’t see him until he shut the door and stepped a foot away from it.

For a moment, neither one of them said anything. Harry’s eyes widened behind his glasses as he registered Robards’ presence, and Robards frowned as he looked at Ginny and Harry.

“What are you doing here?” he said. “It’s your day off.”

“Harry said you wanted him to take your place,” Ginny said. Robards raised an eyebrow.

There was silence for a second, then two, stretching between the three of them like treacle.

Then, Harry’s hold on Ginny’s mind snapped. She gasped. Snapping back to herself felt like hitting the surface after being held under ice-cold water. Her lungs were screaming, her skin burning.

Robards looked concerned, but Ginny operated on instinct, grabbing her wand and shooting the first hex that came to mind.

Huge bats erupted from Harry’s nostrils and he stumbled backwards. Robards started, but Ginny sprinted up to Harry and tackled him, pinning him to the ground.

“Bastard!” she hissed, pulling her fist back and landing it on his cheek. There was a dull thudding sound and a sudden ache in her knuckles, but Ginny ignored it. Using his shock to her advantage, she kicked his wand out of his hand before she found herself being hauled off him.

“What are you doing?” Robards hissed, but Ginny shoved him off and shot a Stunning spell at Harry before Robards could stop her.

“He fucking Imperiused me,” she spat, pointing at Harry’s prone form on the ground. “Tried to force me to get him in here, but I couldn’t do that could I? Not the Secret Keeper.”

Robards didn’t say anything. He just stared at her for a while, and Ginny grew steadily more uncomfortable.

“What?” she asked, when he didn’t speak for a whole minute.

“What did Auror Tonks tell you the afternoon Scrimgeour refused to let you onto the force?” he asked.

Ginny’s stomach plummeted. She hadn’t thought about that meeting in a long time. It had been two days after she’d passed her final qualifying exam. Everyone else that had passed had gotten through except her. Tonks had tried to reassure her while Robards hovered with no words of comfort but a sympathetic expression that indicated he was on her side.

“Said she believed in me, and that she knew I wouldn’t let her down,” Ginny mumbled, even as she remembered that she’d done exactly that. “Said that she’d fight for me because she was sure I was worth it.”

Robards relaxed a little but his eyes were still lined with worry. He walked towards Harry, dropped to his knees, and began to search his robes. Ginny’s knuckles throbbed. She tapped them gently with her wand to soothe it, and a pleasant coolness enveloped them for a moment.

“Shit,” Robards muttered, pulling out a Ministry ID card from inside Harry’s pocket. The alarm bells were now sounding at deafening levels inside Ginny’s head. No one really bothered checking the cards at work – it was just something one of the administrative offices had foisted upon everyone in the interest of security. Ginny kept hers in her pocket all the time, and they were all colour coded by seniority. People at the executive level like Madam Bones and Scrimgeour had blue cards. Senior staff like Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Robards, had red ones. Ginny, along with all the junior Aurors, had a green one.

The card Robards pulled out of Harry’s pocket was red.

“Whose is it?” Ginny asked, still keeping her wand aloft.

“Proudfoot,” Robards muttered. “Either Harry stole his card…”

“Unlikely,” Ginny said.

“Or we have a Polyjuice situation,” Robards continued. He stroked his beard for a moment, glancing at the door of the flat before looking back at Harry’s body on the ground.

“What do we do?” Ginny asked, cradling her fingers as they continued to throb, though it was a lot less painful now than it had been a moment ago. “Do you think he saw beyond the Fidelius?”

“He can’t have,” Robards said. “But something tripped the wards, so I’m not so sure.”

“No that was me,” Ginny said. “I hexed the door.”

Robards was looking at her with a strange expression. “Did he make you do that?” he asked.

“No,” Ginny said. “I… I don’t think he cast it very well. Otherwise I would’ve told him to ask Shacklebolt for the address, but I didn’t. Hexed the door so you’d come out to give me a hand.”

“Quick thinking,” Robards said. “And under the Imperius… that’s impressive, Ginny.”

“Ah, thanks,” Ginny said, flushing a deep red, skin tingling with embarrassment. “But what about…”

They stared at Harry again. Robards shook his head.

“Shacklebolt needs to know immediately,” he said. “And Proudfoot needs to be detained in the Clostra.”

“Should I go get Shacklebolt?” Ginny asked.

“I think so,” Robards said. “I – alright, you go to the Ministry, get Shacklebolt. I’ll take him.”

“Can you manage on your own?”

“I’ll be fine,” Robards said. “Hurry.”

Ginny eyed the door of the flat again. “Shouldn’t someone tell Luna?”

“I’ll handle it,” Robards said. “Go.”

Ginny turned heel and left.

* * *

The Clostra was an underground interrogation and detainment facility for those awaiting trial or awaiting transfer to Azkaban. Most people detained there were involved in sensitive cases or war crimes. After fetching Shacklebolt from the Ministry, Ginny followed him to the Clostra where Robards was waiting for them.

“Where’s he?” Shacklebolt murmured as the lift clanged onto one of the lower levels. Ginny’s stomach lurched. She hated coming to the Clostra, it always felt like she’d been buried in a box and shoved underground. She’d been here a few times during training for guard shifts, but the heavy silence was a huge deterrent. Every cell and interrogation room were completely sealed, and the only noises were the footsteps of the other guards around them. Her thoughts felt unusually loud, her heartbreak more painful, and there was a lingering sting around her brain.

“One of the interrogation rooms,” Robards said. “The potion’s worn off. He didn’t time it very well.”

“Mmm,” Shacklebolt said, as Ginny skipped to keep up with them. “We have a bit of a problem though.”

“What?” Robards asked.

“Dawlish saw us,” Shacklebolt murmured. “Heard nothing, thankfully, but enough to be suspect I’m certain. It’s possible he’ll have Proudfoot released by day’s end.”

Ginny followed them into a small interrogation room. The only other furniture was a metal table pushed against the side of the wall, and a single chair. There were no windows. Proudfoot was propped up in a chair, a bruise on his cheek visible by the light of a single lamp right above him.

Shacklebolt turned to Ginny first. “Tell me what happened,” he said quietly.

Ginny repeated everything, how Proudfoot had cast the Imperius curse on her while at her desk, how she’d taken him right up to the boundaries of the flat, how the curse had slipped and she’d punched him.

“It won’t affect the wards will it? The house is still safe?”

“Safe enough to leave Ms Lovegood alone, yes,” Shacklebolt said. “Only the Secret Keeper can divulge the true location of a dwelling under the Fidelius. It doesn’t matter how close you are, you won’t see it.”

He still looked troubled as he walked over to the chair. Ginny watched him tap his wand gently against Proudfoot’s forehead.

“ _Ennervate_ ,” he said. Proudfoot’s eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. Anybody else would’ve panicked, but was a mark of his Auror training that he merely blinked and sat up a little straighter.

“He disguised himself as Harry, by the way,” Ginny said. “Polyjuice.”

“Do you know who Auror Weasley’s assigned to?” Shacklebolt asked. Proudfoot stayed silent. Ginny was seized with the desire to punch him in the head.

“Who ordered you to take the Polyjuice and retrieve the address from her?” Shacklebolt asked. Proudfoot stayed quiet. Shacklebolt stroked his chin. Ginny cracked her knuckles and Robards sighed impatiently.

“Who are you taking orders from?” Shacklebolt asked. Proudfoot just blinked at him, so Shacklebolt straightened up.

“If you cooperate,” he said. “I won’t have to administer Veritaserum, but if you continue to stay silent, I am afraid you will force my hand.”

Proudfoot said nothing still, staring almost blankly at them. Shacklebolt looked at Robards, and then at Ginny.

“Thank you for your work today, Auror Weasley,” he said. “I’d like you to return to your post and wait there till further notice.”

Ginny took a deep breath and nodded. Interrogation was something they didn’t cover in basic training. That required two years of work and further qualifying exams. Not wanting to dwell on how exactly Shacklebolt and Robards were going to get Proudfoot to talk, she let herself out as quietly as possible. She was almost at the lift before the door opened and Robards ran out.

“Tomorrow morning,” he wheezed, skidding to a stop in front of her. “Half past nine. Where we’ve been meeting.”

Ginny nodded, pressing the button for the lift and listening to the slow creak as it descended. Robards retreated to the interrogation room, and she tried to keep steady as she walked on.

Her heart was thudding even as she reached the flat, as though she’d flown the entire distance between the Clostra and the safehouse. It was bad enough that this had happened, but facing Luna after it was unthinkable. The last thing Ginny wanted to do was worry her, but Luna would’ve known the wards had gone off too. She wasn’t stupid, she’d know something had gone wrong, and she’d expect and explanation. But how could Ginny give her one that wouldn’t frighten her?

Leaning against the door for a moment, she took a deep breath and swallowed hard before forcing herself to go inside.


	34. Chapter 34

Ginny tiptoed inside, wondering if she could head to her room and stay there, but she realised she needed to at least tell Luna that it was safe to come outside now. The plants had retreated completely – there was nothing on the ceiling, and everything in the pots were stock still.

She gave Luna’s door a gentle knock. “Hey. Are you in there?”

Luna opened the door immediately, and Ginny felt like someone had hit her chest with a well-aimed _Reducto_. She swallowed the dust of her heartbreak and opened her mouth to speak.

“You can come back out now, it’s fine,” she said, her words coming flat and heavy. “Robards had to go back to the Ministry for something. We also have to go to Grimmauld Place tomorrow. Nine thirty. We should leave a little earlier though.”

Giving Luna a brisk nod, she began to retreat to her bedroom, but Luna’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Why’re you back?”

“I told you,” Ginny said quietly. “Robards had to go back to the Ministry for something.”

She didn’t dare turn around. She knew if she did, if she looked Luna in the eye again, she’d shatter completely this time.

“Am I in any danger?” Luna asked.

Ginny shook her head. “You’re safe, it’s fine.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Her voice was a whipcrack across Ginny’s back. She flinched.

“It’s nothing,” she said, quieter this time. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Luna said again, louder this time. “If it’s information about my safety, you owe it to me. I need to know how much danger I’m in so I can protect myself.”

“You don’t need to know the specifics,” Ginny said through gritted teeth. “I’ve been assigned to protect you. That’s what I’m here for.”

The vines began to creep out of where they were hiding, and they hissed and writhed over the walls.

“I can protect myself just fine thank you,” Luna said.

Ginny’s restraint cracked in that dangerous way it did before she fell over the edge into something regrettable. She turned heel and looked at Luna head on and was met with a glare so vicious it might as well have been Fiendfyre.

“Can you?” she snapped. “Because if you could, you wouldn’t be here right now and I’d be on a different assignment.”

She hadn’t meant to say it, but the stress of the past week and the scare from getting attacked in the morning had snowballed into what felt like a fistful of rage, a fist she’d directed right in Luna’s face.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I got away without being cursed or making a Vow,” Luna said coldly. “I know this has been a burden on you, _Auror Weasley_ , having to guard someone who allegedly sold the cure to a life-saving antidote, and now you have to keep yourself locked up so you won’t _fuck up_ your job…”

Every word was a poison laced lash over the softest parts of her. The use of her rank was the keenest sting of all, sharp lemon juice straight into a gaping wound.

Unfortunately, Ginny’s temper ran quicker than her sadness, leaping over it and engulfing her good sense.

“I’m sorry I’m such a liability,” Luna continued. “You should’ve gotten your assignment changed.”

“Believe me it wasn’t for the lack of trying,” Ginny snapped. “I wouldn’t be here if Tonks hadn’t made me.”

She regretted her words even as they leapt off her tongue. Luna blinked, all fury suddenly diminished as a shudder rocketed through her body.

“Fuck,” Ginny muttered. “Luna, I didn’t mean it like —”

“Oh, I know exactly how you meant it, Ginevra,” Luna snapped. “Thank you for your honesty. I know what to expect now.”

For a moment there was silence. Ginny was too riled up and agitated to apologise and Luna apparently too hurt and furious to speak. Then, knowing that she probably did owe Luna an explanation about the morning’s events, Ginny sighed and gave in.

“Proudfoot disguised himself as Harry and tried to make me bring him to you,” she said. “He uh… he was just outside here, but I managed to throw him off. Robards took him into custody.”

Luna pursed her lips, shoulders tensing. “I see.”

Silence stretched between them, frozen hands pushing them further apart. The vines stopped creeping upwards.

“They’re taking care of it,” Ginny continued. “Shacklebolt and Robards. We’ll get the full brief tomorrow.”

“Is it safe to be here?” Luna asked.

“The Fidelius will hold,” Ginny said. “You’ll be safe unless the Secret Keeper gives it willingly. No one can get inside.”

“Who’s the Keeper?”

“Shacklebolt,” Ginny said. “We can trust him.”

Luna bit her lip. “How did Proudfoot make you bring him all the way here?” she said quietly.

The thought of what had happened made Ginny feel like she’d drop to her knees in shame. He’d caught her unawares, but it felt so silly. It had been so easy for him to just walk up to her and do it. She’d barely blinked, just gone along with it.

 _You did try to fight it_ , a part of her thought.

 _Yeah, but you still brought him all the way here_ , the other part argued.

Ginny sighed. “He used the Imperius on me,” she said, pulling the words out reluctantly. “Like I said, he was disguised as Harry so…” She shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets. “I’m sorry it happened,” she said. “I wouldn’t have given the address to the real Harry anyway, not without proper clearance. We’ve taken every precaution to keep you as safe as possible. He couldn’t have come in – I couldn’t have brought him in because I’m not the Secret Keeper.”

Luna didn’t say anything. Ginny balled up her fists and cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry it happened,” she said again. “I promise I’ll keep you safe. I’ll do everything I can.” She shuddered, a lump growing fast in her throat. “To my last breath Luna, I promise.”

She turned heel, wanting to retreat to her room as shame began to engulf her, but Luna’s words froze her in place.

“You think this only goes one way?” she said. “You think you can just say things like that and walk away from me? That you can hurt me like that and stay in your room and pretend that nothing’s gone wrong when you’ve absolutely broken my heart —”

Her voice gasped to a halt. Ginny gulped and turned to look at her. The resentment in Luna’s eyes was painful to see.

“It’s for your own good Luna,” she whispered. “We can’t be together —”

“I’ll stay away from you if you want me to,” Luna said, her posture tight and steady. “But don’t expect me to stop wanting you, to stop caring. Don’t think that just because you’ve brushed off being fucking Imperiused this morning, I’m all good about it. Just because you’re used to not trusting people —”

The fury that Ginny had thought had abated came surging back.

“You think I’m not heartbroken over this?” she exploded. “You think it was easy to walk away from you? To give up something that made me feel okay for the first time in years?”

“You still walked away!”

“To protect you!” Ginny shouted. “I did it for you! For your own good, and look what happened today! Someone tried to get to you, but over my fucking dead body —”

“You’re mad if you think I’ll let anything happen to you while protecting me!” Luna yelled. “You’re completely mad, Ginevra Weasley.”

Her words fell like water on hot coals, sizzling over Ginny’s fevered anger. She took a moment to let the words sink, understanding for the first time perhaps, the weight of the thing they’d walked into.

“Well,” Ginny muttered. “I’m madly in love with you that’s for sure.”

Luna still looked upset. “I’m serious,” she said. “You might be an Auror —”

“And trained for exactly this situation —”

“But I know my way around a duel,” Luna insisted. “How do you think I get half my ingredients? Some potioneers guard their magic very closely.”

“I know you’re capable,” Ginny said. “And I’m sorry for implying that you weren’t. But this is also my job. It is literally my job to protect you right now —”

“Well screw your job!” Luna shouted. “Screw it! I won’t have someone else being harmed just because they want my silence! I’d hand myself over to Burdock if it meant I wouldn’t have to lose someone _else_ …”

A sob burst out of her throat and she clapped a hand over her mouth to force it back. Ginny bit her lip.

“It probably won’t come down to another attack,” she muttered. “We’re doing everything we can to try to avoid that. I got away today —”

“You got lucky,” Luna said. “What happens next time?”

“I’ll be on guard next time,” Ginny shrugged, but Luna glared at her.

“Stop trying to trivialise this,” she said. “Stop lying to make me feel better —”

“I’m _not_ lying!” Ginny yelped, now completely lost as to how to diffuse the situation, alarmed at Luna’s refusal to calm down. “I’m not about to stand by and let someone kidnap you Luna, don’t be daft. Of course I’ll fight back! I fought back today but it’s not fucking easy to throw off an Imperius Curse.”

“I couldn’t take seeing something happening to you like it did to my father,” Luna said, trembling. “Mum dying was the worst day of my life. Daddy getting cursed was just as bad. If anything happens to you I just… I can’t take it. I won’t be able to move past it.”

“Then nothing will happen to me,” Ginny said. “I’ll do my best to make sure of that. I promise Luna. I promise.”

Luna shook her head, still shaking. Ginny couldn’t take it any longer. If she was going to get suspended, fuck it, she might as well commit the crime to the fullest.

Rushing to Luna, she swept her up in her arms and Luna fell into her embrace with a sob.

“Luna, I’m so sorry.”

“Please don’t leave like that again,” Luna whimpered, her words muffled against Ginny’s shoulder.

“I won’t.”

“It hurt so much – I – I _can’t_ lose you again – please...”

“I know,” Ginny whispered, stroking Luna’s hair as she screamed into her shoulder. “I know, I’m so sorry.”

Luna sobbed loud and hard into her robes and Ginny held her all the while, not knowing what else to do or say. Hearing her cry like this broke her heart; tears stung the corners of her eyes and her chest tightened. She held on, whispering things she hoped were soothing and stroking her hair, knowing that eventually she’d cry herself hoarse and have to stop.

Then Luna raised her head to kiss her, furiously, ferociously, and Ginny kissed her back just as hard. Everything she’d held back in the days they’d been apart burst through like a broken dam, pouring out with such force that she had no choice but to let the current sweep her under and away. The vines rustled harder than ever, now coiling over the ceiling, and the tightly wound buds exploded into bloom so violently that they found themselves under a sudden shower of petals and Firelight Dust.

“I missed you so much,” Luna whispered against her lips, even as her fingers stroked the buzzed sides of Ginny’s head with the gentlest touch.

“How can I make you feel better right now?” Ginny said, brushing Firelight Dust and flower petals off Luna’s hair and cheeks. “Tell me.”

Luna’s fingers trailed down, unfastening the front of Ginny’s robes. Ginny’s hands slipped underneath Luna’s t-shirt, groaning as she touched her fevered skin. Luna gasped against her lips, nipping softly at the lower one and pressing closer, making Ginny ache all over.

“Bedroom?” Ginny asked quietly, blinking Firelight Dust out of her eyes. Luna nodded, and Ginny lifted her up and carried her inside.


	35. Chapter 35

They made up slow and sombre, whispering apologies into fevered skin, kissing every part of their bodies better till there was nothing left to kiss, but the wounds still seeped.

Ginny eventually stepped out of bed to make them both something to eat. Luna refused to leave the room, holding fast to pillows like shields against another attack. Ginny brought them sandwiches in to eat in silence, bare sides pressed up against one another, legs entwined. Something had broken between them but their hearts still reached across the cracks like spiderwebs. Ginny found herself adrift in the chasm, bumping into Luna every now and again before floating away.

It didn’t matter whether they decided to stay together or not. For as long as the assignment dragged on, they knew they’d be stuck in the limbo of not knowing what lay on the other side. Luna needed time to trust Ginny again, and Ginny could only hope that she could regain it. She knew they’d moved too fast into a relationship space without thinking about the situation they were in. She tried to convince herself that the break would’ve happened under normal circumstances, but as Luna drifted off to sleep in her arms, Ginny knew the truth. She’d cornered them both into heartbreak with her own recklessness. Even though Luna had admitted that she understood that the assignment came first, it didn’t fix what she’d broken.

The next morning was quieter than the day before it. They dressed wordlessly, hovering close and sharing a long kiss before Disapparating together. This time, Luna reached for the serpentine doorknocker before Ginny did.

Almost everyone was already seated around the kitchen table and Luna took her usual place next to Rolf while Ginny sat as far away from her as possible, but also several seats away from Harry, who she felt anxious to be around. Yesterday’s events kept replaying too vividly for her to be comfortable near him.

Gritting her teeth, Ginny pressed the tip of the wand into the table, accidentally gouging out some wood. Grimacing, she shoved her wand in her pocket.

Tonks came rushing into the kitchen, already frazzled. “We’ve found Penelope Clearwater,” she said. Several people gasped.

“Where?” Robards asked.

“Would you believe, hidden in her own house?” Tonks groaned, dropping into a chair next to Ginny. “The team went in to check for traces again and heard a banging from the bathroom. She’d broken free of the curse holding her - that’s why she wasn’t visible to us by the way. Fucking brilliant.”

“Where’s she now?” Ginny asked.

“We’ve sent her to St. Mungo’s, she’s not in a great state…”

Shacklebolt walked into the room, interrupting the chaos. “Madam Bones will be along shortly,” he said. “Is everyone here?”

“Parvati and Neville are in the drawing room,” Harry said. “But the rest of us are here.”

“Good,” Shacklebolt said, while Ginny tried to suppress a little shiver of fear. Shacklebolt launched into a quick brief, filling everyone in about how Proudfoot attacking Ginny, though he didn’t mention the Polyjuice part. Everyone’s expressions ranged from appalled to frightened. Hermione gripped the edge of the table, her nail beds whitening. Harry put an arm around her shoulders.

“If they’re stalking us into our safehouses, what’s to say anyone’s safe right now?” Padma said.

“IT was just us at the original meeting,” said Terry Boot. “Us and Scrimgeour. So unless one of _us_ is leaking information…”

The room crackled with sudden tension. Ginny gulped, tightening her grip on the handle of her wand in her pocket.

“I’d like for that not to be the case,” Shacklebolt said. “But unfortunately, Proudfoot used Polyjuice to disguise himself as one of us, lulling Auror Weasley into a false sense of security. I’m afraid today might involve some interrogation.”

Ginny’s stomach lurched. The thought of having to sit through an interrogation - or worse, take a truth serum - wasn’t something she was willing to sit through. Her mind flashed with uncomfortable images; the last thing she wanted to do was reveal her affair with Luna, even though she knew it wouldn’t come out unless she was directly questioned. There was no way of knowing she wouldn’t be though.

“Did you find out anything yesterday?” she asked, trying to swallow her anxiety. Robards shook his head.

“We would’ve administered Veritaserum, but Dawlish intervened,” he said. “Came down to the Clostra himself, saying the Minister had ordered Proudfoot’s immediate release. Had a signed letter from Fudge and everything.”

“So we know Fudge knows,” Moody said.

“Yes,” Shacklebolt said, as footsteps approached the doorway of the kitchen. “The issue now is…”

Padma gasped, eyes on the doorway. Ginny turned and yelped, standing before she could even think. Madam Bones had arrived with Scrimgeour right behind her.

Shacklebolt looked mildly surprised, but not nearly as taken aback as Ginny was feeling. Madam Bones opened her mouth to speak, but Scrimgeour beat her to it.

“It would seem that you may have misunderstood where my loyalties lie,” he said, giving Shacklebolt a look that would’ve incinerated parchment. In the corner, Tonks winced. Even Robards looked pained. “As Head Auror, I should be informed of the comings and goings of the office, not have half my Aurors sneaking about.”

“Apologies for not warning you,” Madam Bones said, though it seemed like her statement was addressed across the room.

Scrimgeour sighed as though he’d been done a great personal wrong. Dragging out the chair closest to Shacklebolt, he sat down.

“If anyone would care to brief me…”

“Yes…” Shacklebolt said, but he glanced at Madam Bones instead.

“He’s clean,” Madam Bones said. “Came to my office this morning because Fudge is up in arms about Proudfoot being taken to the Clostra.”

“Imagine my surprise when I find out that my office is mutinying under my own nose,” Scrimgeour said, eyeing Shacklebolt with a look that Ginny was glad not to be on the receiving end of. “What made you think I couldn’t be trusted?”

“You report to Fudge more often than you do me,” Madam Bones said, narrowing her eyes at him. “I’m your Head of Department.”

“And you know as well as I do that Fudge’s been ordering a complete rearrangement of the Ministry hierarchy, starting with you,” Scrimgeour said, but Moody interrupted.

“Seems to me that Bones has every right to be suspect,” he growled. “A Head Auror that breaks the chain of command and reports to the Minister instead of the Head of Department —”

“This isn’t wartime, Alastor,” Scrimgeour said. His tone made Ginny feel like it wasn’t the first time they’d had this argument.

Moody glared at him. “You seem to think that the Auror Office can put down their wands and have a nice nap now that Voldemort’s gone —”

“Because I don’t hex everything in sight?” Scrimgeour said, while everyone else winced. Ginny watched the exchange warily. Madam Bones looked completely put out.

“Please,” she started, but Moody was already on his feet, wand out, pointing it straight at Scrimgeour.

Everyone gasped, chairs scraping with deafening creaks across the wooden floor as they shot back as far as they could to get out of firing range. Shacklebolt’s eyes widened and Tonks inched towards Moody, her eyes fixed on the wand in his shaking hand.

“Come now Mad-Eye,” she said gently. “There’s no need for —”

“I’m sorry if I’m not willing to sit here and let myself be as easily hoodwinked as the rest of them,” Moody growled, while Scrimgeour stared at the wand tip pointing directly at his chest. “You never quite knew how best to mask your loyalties did you? I said when I retired that you’d make a sorry excuse for a Head —”

“He took Veritaserum in my presence to prove his innocence,” Madam Bones said firmly.

“Veritaserum eh?” Moody said, his eyes bulging out of his head. “Forgive me if I don’t think he’s just swigged a vial of water and fed you some cockamamie story about —”

“It was from my own stores, Alastor,” Madam Bones said. Ginny was surprised at how calm she still sounded, but she supposed it was the best tone to carry when you were dealing with someone who was barely a second away from throwing a curse. “I’m the only one that can unlock my office. The wards won’t come down for anybody else. I understand that we have to be vigilant, but perhaps we could get through this conversation _without_ murdering each other.”

Moody looked like he was still seconds away from attacking Scrimgeour, who’d barely moved. Ginny marvelled at how he hadn’t reacted to having a wand pointed straight at him. If it had been her, she would’ve ducked immediately, Shield Charms be damned.

Tonks patted Moody’s arm. He sat down with a huff, still gripping his wand, placing it on the table in full sight of everyone. Ginny kept her eye on it.

“Let’s hear from you first, Rufus,” Madam Bones said. “Then we’ll fill you in.”

“I’d prefer if the room was cleared of anyone who isn’t an Auror,” Scrimgeour said, eyeing the Hippocrates members.

“The drawing room should be fine to wait in,” Tonks said gently. Luna, Rolf and Hermione got up (Harry squeezed Hermione’s hand before she left), and they waited till they heard the door shut quietly across the house.

“After yesterday’s skirmish,” Scrimgeour said, looking Ginny right in the eye, “it became very clear that none of my Aurors were reporting back to me. Proudfoot was dragged back and forth from the Clostra without a single memo passing my way.”

Ginny crossed her arms and stayed silent, not wanting to rise to the bait. When no one claimed responsibility or offered an excuse, Scrimgeour huffed.

“Naturally after Dawlish broke chain of command and reported to Fudge to order his release, I had to get to the bottom of it,” he said. “There’s been a faction of Aurors taking orders above the DMLE for years now - Fudge’s personal protective squad if you will. I’m sure we’re all familiar.”

“Fudge sometimes overrules our assignments and takes us off certain cases or pushes us to look the other way,” Tonks chimed in to fill in for the junior Aurors.

“Not all cases mind you. He can’t pull all the strings and expect people not to start asking questions,” Scrimgeour said. “He couldn’t afford to be seen interfering. I had to make sure I let him think that we were letting certain things go in his favour, to gain his trust. That’s how I managed to get you lot on this case,” he said, gesturing around the room.

“Wait,” Ginny said slowly. “I thought Shacklebolt was in charge of the case.”

“He is,” Scrimgeour said. “But I suggested we pick from our pool of juniors. Fudge wasn’t having it, but I had to stand my ground for that one.” He shrugged. “It was hard to refute his argument. We haven’t received a case of this magnitude since wartime. Made more sense to attach people further up the hierarchy, but that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.” He glared at all of them. “You lot are the most loyal Aurors in the force at the moment, even if you have been sneaking about.”

“Did you figure out what Proudfoot was up to?” Tonks asked.

“I got him in my office after hours,” Scrimgeour said. “They know that you know the truth behind the Hippocrates attacks and they’re determined to cover it up. Fudge ordered the attacks on the Six - though not so blatantly I’d say. He’s smart enough to use his words cleverly in case someone retrieves a memory for use in a trial.” He huffed. “But ‘whatever it takes’ was what he said, and the Aurors carried out their orders accordingly. If Fudge has his way, all of you will be booted out of the force come Election Day.”

Ginny gulped, glancing at Tonks, who looked pale.

“Do they know for sure that we know?” Shacklebolt asked.

“No,” Scrimgeour said. “And they don’t know how we’ve hidden our charges, but they’ve been targeting the junior Aurors one by one. I’m sure Auror Weasley’s not the only one they’ve approached.”

The room fell silent and everyone looked around, but no one volunteered any information. Padma blinked and spoke up.

“I don’t know if I’ve been approached,” she said. “I mean, if Proudfoot got to Ginny and he was Polyjuiced as one of us, I don’t really know if he or anyone else might’ve come up to me to say something.”

“Well we’ll have to interrogate the lot of you for answers after this won’t we?” Scrimgeour said gruffly, but Madam Bones spoke over him.

“We have a week till Election Day, and a difficult matter on our hands,” she said. “We’ve uncovered a great deal. Burdock has been attacking the Society to hush them up, sanctioned by the Ministry. Fortunately for us, there’s precedent to prosecute.”

“Oh?” Tonks asked.

“The attacks alone are a severe enough matter to take to the Wizengamot,” Madam Bones said. “A sitting head of government ordering attacks on members of our community cannot be overlooked.”

“No shit,” Terry mumbled.

“But according to the most recently revised charter of wizarding rights,” Madam Bones continued, “Burdock’s activities prior to the most recent attacks on the Six are also prosecutable.”

“How so?” Harry asked.

“It infringes upon the universal right to be healed,” said Madam Bones. “There used to be legal space charge money for cures, but the International Confederation of Wizards closed the loophole five months ago. Anyone that has been unable to pay for treatment in the past five months can effectively file a case against Burdock.”

“Bet it’s going to be hard to argue though,” Robards said, stroking his beard. “Especially with all the charities kicking their fundraising into high gear since Burdock started charging.”

“I heard the DDCT raised twice their goal this year,” Padma said.

“I’ve heard of a lot of people receiving aid from them,” Robards said. “Burdock might argue that the existence of these charities overrides the cost issue, and that their purpose as a storage unit is essential to keep the cures safe, and that they need money to keep the cures in storage, etcetera…”

“How’re we gonna prosecute in a week though?” Tonks asked. “We’d barely have enough time to file the case and push it through admin. And if Fudge wins…”

Everyone looked around again. Scrimgeour looked grim.

“What happens if he wins?” Tonks asked quietly, sounding more unsure than Ginny had ever heard her. “Our jobs… the case… the Hippocrates members – what… How do we keep them safe?”

“He can’t kick us all out at once,” Terry Boot said. “Won’t that look suspicious?”

“He’s been building enough of a case,” Scrimgeour said. “I think he’s got enough evidence that we’re running a side case without Ministry approval. Doesn’t really matter what he does, he can spin it into whatever he wants if he wins —”

“Not if we talk,” Padma said. “We can talk about it, tell people what really happened, we can —”

“Do you really think they’d believe you?” Scrimgeour said. “Over the official word of the Ministry? No, people like to think they’re being kept safe. They’ll believe whatever helps them sleep at night, and that’s not going to be the story about the Ministry going rotten. Better think they’ve caught the people responsible and that the matter’s done and dusted.”

A chilling thought suddenly flew into Ginny’s head.

“What if…” she started, but then swallowed hard. “What if they pin the blame on us? Say we attacked the Six? Use that as reason to get rid of us, and then tie the rest of the Hippocrates members into an Unbreakable Vow the way they did Parvati and Neville?”

Tonks paled. Robards looked stricken. Shacklebolt and Madam Bones exchanged glances, but Scrimgeour gave Ginny a shrewd look.

“You know what,” he said slowly. “I think that might be exactly what they’re planning to do.”


	36. Chapter 36

After hours of questioning, Ginny and Luna were the first Auror-protectee duos to leave Grimmauld Place that evening. Scrimgeour’s revealing spells were still making Ginny wince a little, but she’d take those over a Truth Serum any day. Drained from the interrogation and a lack of food, she was eager to get back and rest. Luna looked similarly exhausted, shutting the front door as quietly as she could to avoid waking the portrait.

“Ready?” Ginny murmured, slipping her fingers through Luna’s and adjusting her cloak. Luna nodded, taking a deep breath, and they both walked down the steps, onto the street. It was dark and deserted, with the barest whiff of rubbish trailing in the quiet breeze.

Thinking on it later, Ginny would regret the fact that they didn’t Disapparate off the doorstep immediately. The Fidelius on Grimmauld Place only extended to the edge of the front steps; once out of bounds, they were visible to all and sundry.

The first hex caught Ginny completely by surprise.

It felt like a thousand needles plunging into her right hand. Ginny dropped her wand with a yelp, but Luna already had her own wand out, shooting a spell into the dark and illuminating the figures hiding in the distance. Hooded and cloaked, the two emerged slowly.

Ginny managed to retrieve her wand and mumbled the counter to the stinging hex that was now making her hand swell. “We need to call for help,” she whispered, straightening up and moving in front of Luna.

“Not if we want them to get inside,” Luna muttered. “Careful. I think it was the one on the left that attacked you.”

“We could go back inside,” Ginny said, keeping an eye on the one Luna had pointed out. “Alert them. The others can’t follow us in.”

“I have a feeling someone betrayed the Fidelius,” Luna said. “I don’t want to risk it.”

There wasn’t any time to dwell on it. The next hex came quickly and quietly, and Ginny only managed to put up a Shield Charm in time.

“We should Apparate out of here,” she murmured, before shooting another hex into the distance. Luna shook her head.

“We need to incapacitate them the best we can,” she said. “If they get to the others - what if there are more of them around?”

A cat yowled in the distance. The evening was quiet, but the breeze continued to the smell of rubbish over the steps where they were standing. Ginny wondered why their assailants weren’t attacking, perhaps waiting for Ginny and Luna to make another move, but when three more figures popped quietly into view, she understood.

“We were set up,” she whispered. “They’ve come for everyone.”

“Then we make sure they don’t get in there,” Luna said, and without another word, she shot an Impediment Jinx at one of them.

The air was suddenly alight with spells. Ginny leapt closer so she could have a better angle, but had to dodge a quick Body-Bind as it came her way. She shot a Bat-Bogey hex at the nearest figure, chuckling when they covered their nose, but not before dozens of little winged bogies had shot out.

“That’ll teach you,” she hissed. “Expelliarmus!”

The person dodged it, only barely, but Ginny had to dodge another curse as it came her way. It singed her robes, making the fabric curl up at the hem.

“Fuck,” she growled. “Tarantallegra!”

Her new assailant cast up a Shield Charm just in time and Ginny had to dodge her own spell as it ricocheted, exploding onto the wall behind her in a shower of sparks. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Luna battling three at once, their spells missing her _just_ so. Luna danced out of reach, leaping and flying away the best she could, but one of them caught her by the ankle and she went down.

Rage like Ginny hadn’t known filled her body with unprecedented speed. She yelled, sprinting towards Luna as her assailants advanced upon her.

“Stupefy!” she shouted, shooting a Stunner right at one of them. They keeled over, but the other two stood to meet her, and Ginny shot two more Stunners that they barely dodged. Luna was crawling to her feet, tapping her ankle with her wand, but Ginny was enraged beyond all rationality. She blasted a curse at the nearest one, aiming a kick at them for good measure as they went down before leaping over the body to cast a hex at someone else. It found its mark; the attacker’s arms went limp. They toppled over, trembling on the ground.

Two new assailants popped into view - had they staggered their arrivals? One was down, one was still trying to get the bat-bogies off their face, but this was still five against two. Knowing she couldn’t take them all at once, Ginny pointed her wand at the rubbish heap just behind the newcomers and shot a spell at it.

The bin bags began to multiply, huge, slimy and filled to bursting with rubbish as an avalanche began to fall. The air was filled with the stench of rotting food and Merlin knows what else. The newcomers retched and scattered. Ginny didn’t waste a moment. Dodging a Disarming Charm, she shot an Impediment Jinx at someone else and pointed her wand at the bin bags again.

“Confringo!”

The bags exploded. Ginny regretted it immediately, but the diversion had worked, even if it meant they were all now covered in stinking food and assorted garbage. In the time that it had taken for everyone to run from the exploding bags, Luna had managed to get to her feet. She shot a purple spell at one of her assailants, forcing his limbs to jelly. He went down with a cry. Ginny raised her wand but someone grabbed her from behind. Coughing and spluttering as an arm tightened around her neck, she kicked at them as hard as she could, but to no avail.

“Relashio,” she rasped, poking her wand into the nearest limb. The attacker her released her with a yelp of pain. Ginny gulped huge lungfuls of stinking air, shooting an Impediment Jinx over her shoulder at her attacker as she sprinted towards Luna. Someone shot a spell at her but she leapt over it. The soles of her boots grew warm as the spell grazed them.

“Quick thinking with the rubbish bags,” Luna whispered, but before they could start duelling again, one of the assailants spoke.

“Come now Weasley. Give us Lovegood and we’ll let you walk home.”

“Fuck off,” Ginny spat. She shot a Stunner at the man. He dodged but it hit the person behind him and they buckled.

“You’re not going to be able to get us all,” he said, though he didn’t step closer.

“Try me,” Ginny said, even as more figures Apparated into view.

“We need a better strategy,” Luna said, drawing closer to her so they were back to back.

“Not unless you know how to Apparate straight into the house,” Ginny murmured.

“This is your final warning, Weasley,” the man said. “Step aside and we won’t have any problems.”

“You might not have a problem,” Ginny said, raising her wand. “But I do. _Stupefy_!”

The man blocked the spell again and shot a curse at Luna, who blocked it. Ginny leapt in front of her and shot two Bat-Bogey hexes off in rapid succession. They found their marks and Ginny took advantage of their distraction. Two more Stunners and another Impediment Jinx hit true, but something slashed into Ginny’s arm. She yelled, almost dropping her wand.

“Ginevra!” Luna gasped, but she barely had a moment to help. Two more assailants were on her. She slashed out at them in a single curse; one of them blocked it but the other lurched and began to vomit spiders.

Clutching her wand in her left hand, Ginny stumbled and shot a shaky Body-Bind Curse at someone, but with her wand arm feeling like it was on fire, she couldn’t aim properly. She’d once played a Quidditch game like this; her right shoulder dislocated from a Bludger attack, she’d held onto her broom with her legs and shot a goal with her left hand before letting Giselle catch her.

“Too bad you don’t have your broom with you, Red Lightning,” said a woman catching up to her. “You were always better in the air than on the ground.”

“That’s how much you know,” Ginny muttered, casting a Stunner in her direction. The spell hit the witch in the chest but it was weak and only made her stumble. Arm throbbing like it might fall off any second, Ginny tried to Stun her again, but a jet of red light flew right at her and she had to roll on the ground to avoid it. She shot a weak hex at someone who was running at her; it was enough to slow them down for a couple of seconds. Tightening her grip on her wand, Ginny gritted her teeth and squinted to aim.

“Stupefy,” she hissed. The spell hit its target right in the back. They hit the ground with a thud.

Luna was holding her own against two attackers now, and Ginny ran towards her, still clutching her arm, trying to position herself so she wouldn’t hex Luna by accident. The first spell she shot went way off the mark, ricocheting off the walls of one of the houses and exploding on the street. The second hex was truer, but it missed the attacker’s head by inches, lodging itself into their shoulder instead. Ginny huffed and shot another spell at them, not realising that Luna was moving farther and farther away from her. Her arm hurt so badly that her head was starting to ache from the pain.

It was a wonder that no one had stuck their head out of the door at the noise or noticed the lights; Ginny was certain the Muggles would’ve at least found the bangs and clatters curious enough to merit a look. She dodged a flame that came towards her and slashed a curse across her opponent’s face. Using her shoulder to manoeuvre, she kept her left arm as straight as she could to keep her aim steady. One of her jinxes missed, but another one managed to graze the base of someone’s robes. It crept up in a matter of minutes, engulfing them in ropes.

She spotted Luna some feet away from her and began to make her way towards her, blocking every new attack that came her way. As she struggled to keep duelling, Ginny noticed a figure crawling further away from the scrum, positioning themselves in a way that would give them full access to Luna, who was still trying to hold off two attackers. Her side was completely exposed. Ginny ran to give her some backup, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to cast an accurate Shield Charm with her left arm.

She took a running leap and jumped in front of Luna to block the spell.

It felt like a gut punch. Winded, she landed hard on her knees with a grunt. Pain sparked over her kneecaps, but this wasn’t too bad. She’d endured worse Bludger attacks and stayed on her broom.

Luna gasped. Ginny managed to stumble upright. “I’m fine,” she said, trying to straighten up properly.

Then, she was hit with the most indescribable agony she’d ever felt in her life.

Her bones felt like they were on fire, melting off the sockets of their joints, her skin peeling in an inferno. She screamed as she hit the ground again, her head exploding with pain. She could smell blood, taste the metallic tang of it as it filled her throat. Her lungs gasped, rattling through the fluid they were drowning in…

“ _Ginny_!”

Luna's scream of anguish tore through the night, but Ginny barely heard her. Her skin was on fire, her teeth felt like they were being pulled out one by one, screws digging into her limbs, her eyes exploding into bloody, mangled flesh…

She barely felt Luna’s arms around her as they Disapparated.


	37. Chapter 37

“… lift her head, careful not to jostle her too much…”

“… can you…”

“… this should do…”

Muffled voices, disjointed phrases… Ginny couldn’t make out anything. Her eyes were too heavy to open, and her head was throbbing so hard it made her want to vomit.

She held her breath, trying to find a calm place in her mind, away from the pain. The voices grew louder.

“… might hurt her. Stay close.”

A cool hand pressed into her palm.

“I’m right here Ginny…”

The soft voice sounded vaguely like Luna’s. Ginny wanted to say something back but she couldn’t move her mouth. She breathed in the traces of Luna’s perfume, heart slowing as she felt a hand caress her head.

Something pressed into her bare stomach. It felt too much like a wand tip for comfort. All the safety she’d felt at Luna’s touch immediately evaporated.

Another pair of hands closed in on her wrists and shoulders, while someone else held her down by the ankles. She opened her mouth to tell Luna to run before a lightening shock of pain bolted through her.

Ginny screamed louder than she ever had in her life, voice scraping against her throat in agony.

“It’s fine, you’re okay,” said the Luna-voice. The wand-tip, now burning hot, pressed into Ginny’s skin again. Another shock, the lightning coursing through every bone, lighting her skull on fire. Ginny shrieked again, tears coursing down her cheeks.

“I know it hurts,” said the Luna-voice, but Ginny was certain now that it couldn’t be her, Luna would never sit by and let her be hurt like this. She’d fight off whoever was cursing her and make sure they were both safe.

She wouldn’t let Ginny hurt like this.

“Keep her head steady,” said the other voice. A different pair of hands, stronger, larger, clasped around her head. Ginny tried to shake them off, but the wand tip shot lightning through her again. In the midst of her scream, a potion was forced down her throat.

She spluttered, almost choking, but the potion was smooth and butter, sweet as pie. Sugary warmth coursed through her body; where her bones once burned from the spell, they were now soothed in cotton-softness.

“Ginny, can you open your mouth again?” the Luna-voice asked. Ginny, pleasantly happy and sweet-minded, opened up for more. The next potion was blatantly unpleasant, bitter enough to make her face spasm. Someone held her mouth closed till she swallowed and she whimpered as it trickled down her throat. Her mouth was opened again and a third potion followed, this one thick and tasteless, leaving her tongue cold.

“You’re okay Ginny,” the Luna-voice said, as a numbness began to creep across the edges of Ginny’s mind. The voices faded, and she fell unconscious again.

* * *

When she finally came to, she was on a bed in the middle of a small window-less room. There was a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace with flowers on the mantle. In front of her stood large wooden wardrobe and a smaller cabinet and washbasin. Ginny blinked, clearing her eyes, trying to see if there was anyone lying in wait, but all she could hear was the fire and nothing else.

She inched out from underneath the blue and green patchwork quilt, looking around for her wand. Spotting it on the bedside table next to a glass of water, she grabbed it and swung herself out of bed. Her body felt weak and heavy and her head was still fuzzy. As she placed her feet on the ground, she became aware of a slight ache in her abdomen.

Ginny pulled up the t-shirt she was wearing – she didn’t recognize it or the trousers she’d been given. Bandages were wrapped securely around her torso. She poked the painful spot in the middle and winced.

“Argh fuck,” she muttered. Her feet brushed against a pair of slippers laid out next to the bed. She slipped them on, grateful for the warmth, and shuffled out of the bedroom onto a small, well-lit staircase landing.

She could hear voices coming from downstairs. Holding her wand aloft, Ginny tiptoed slowly, a jinx already on her tongue when Luna’s hair came into view. It was piled into a haphazard bun and she was sitting at a table with her back to Ginny, chatting with Lucretia who was tearing apart some bread and dipping it in soup.

Lucretia saw her first and beamed. “Oh, you’re awake! And walking! Fantastic.”

Luna turned around. Ginny gulped. The sight of her always made her heart leap, but this time it also made her wound twinge a little. She winced, and clutched her stomach. Luna and Lucretia hurried to their feet.

“Do you need help?” Luna said, rushing towards Ginny as she came down the last few steps.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Ginny said, but let Luna help her to the table anyway. Lucretia pulled out a chair for her. Ginny sat down gingerly, trying not to aggravate the wound. Luna’s bowl was empty, and she ladled some soup into it and pushed it towards Ginny.

“Have some,” she said. “You’ll need it.”

“Some bread too if you can take it,” Lucretia said, tearing off a hunk and separating the thick crust so that Ginny was left with the softest bits. “But don’t rush.”

“Thanks,” Ginny said hoarsely, picking up a spoon. It felt heavy in her fingers. “Erm, how long was I out for?”

“A week,” Luna said, gently stroking Ginny’s hair. Appalled, Ginny dropped the spoon.

“A whole week!”

“You’re fine,” Lucretia said. “You’re recovering well, don’t worry. I was just telling Luna that you should be coming to either this evening or tomorrow morning. It’s good that you’re downstairs and on your feet. That’s not the kind of curse a lot of people come back from so quickly.”

“Helped that you were here,” Luna said, reaching out to squeeze Lucretia’s hand. Lucretia smiled, but she gave Ginny a gentle look. It made her look almost maternal.

“Try to eat a little,” she said. “You’ll need the energy.”

“What happened after the attack?” Ginny asked, picking up the spoon and taking a small sip. A comforting warmth spread over her tongue, slightly peppery with some onion and sage.

“You blocked a curse with your body,” Luna said. “It hit you right here.” She poked her own stomach in the spot where the pain on Ginny’s abdomen was the strongest. “Missed your chest luckily, so it couldn’t do as much damage as it might’ve done.”

“Urgh,” Ginny mumbled. “Can’t believe the bastards got me before I got them.”

“It’s fine,” Luna said, her voice growing cold. “I hexed them before Disapparating with you.”

Ginny put her spoon down, her fingers trembling from the effort of holding it up. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” she said. Luna raised an eyebrow.

“Ginevra,” she said. “You took a spell in the stomach for me. I’d rather think that falls under the definition of _protecting_ , don’t you?”

Ginny opened her mouth to respond but caught Lucretia hiding a laugh behind her hand. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Lucretia said, her expression softening. “I’m happy you’re on the mend. It’s just funny to me that this is happening.”

“What is happening?” asked Luna and Ginny in unison. Lucretia gestured at the two of them.

“Your bickering,” she said. “I’m just relieved. You had us very worried for a minute there, Ginny.”

“Well I’m not going away so quickly,” Ginny scowled, crossing her arms. Luna pursed her lips and tried to spoon some soup into her mouth. Ginny opened and let herself be fed, and after a while, Luna resumed her explanation.

“I managed to Apparate into the Cat,” she said. “Straight into the bar. Sue helped me bring you to Lu. We had to hold you down - the both of us and Delilah. You were thrashing about so much, Lu could barely do the counter spell.”

“Well it hurt,” Ginny grumbled. Luna fed her another spoonful and some bread.

“You’ve been given three different potions daily, and the counter-curse of course,” Lucretia said. “It’s done wonders. I know the bandages are still on, but there’s barely any scarring anymore. You should be back to normal in a couple more weeks, but it might twinge a bit every now and again, especially in hot weather.” She sighed, stretching her arms over her head. “Nature of curses I’m afraid. They don’t ever really go away, but you’ll live to a ripe old age Ginny, don’t worry.”

But Ginny had other, more immediate concerns. She’d just caught sight of her hair in the mirror opposite, and pressed a hand onto Luna’s thigh.

“Fuck,” she said, tugging at a wildly curling lock. “This is a disaster.”

Her hair had grown nearly three inches in the time she’d been unconscious and was sticking up in every odd direction, almost the way Harry’s did. Some strands were straight, others wavy, but there were a few that were curling in a way she’d never seen her hair do before. She grabbed a clump of hair between her fingers and grimaced.

“Side effect of the antidotes,” Lucretia said. “Don’t worry. Delilah’s good with a wand. She’ll have it buzzed off for you in no time.”

Ginny sighed, leaning back in her chair and taking the soup spoon from Luna. “Where are we actually?” she asked, gesturing around.

“We’re still technically in the Cat,” Lucretia said, cleaning her own empty bowl with a flick of her wand. “The house is lodged behind the club. The whole building is my grandmother’s. She founded the club right before the Great Wizarding War.”

“Woah,” Ginny said. Lucretia nodded.

“She used to hide Muggles and Muggleborns in this house,” she said. “Grindelwald was bigger in Europe, but loads of people here believed his stuff. My mum and aunt hid a lot of Muggleborns here during the last war too.”

“Your family’s awesome,” Ginny said, swallowing another spoonful of soup, feeling marginally less fuzzy.

“Don’t I know it,” Lucretia said. “I’m the youngest of seven.”

“Oh hey, like me,” Ginny said.

“Yup,” Lucretia said. “But seven girls.”

“Oof.”

“Indeed.” Lucretia sighed, spinning her wand between her fingers. “My sisters are much more accomplished than I’ll be. Which is why I’m still in Britain, running the old family club and apothecary while they gallivant across the globe like this one did.” She poked Luna’s hand and laughed. Ginny smiled.

“You saved my life,” she said. “That makes you the best of your sisters in my opinion.”

“Not when you come from a long tradition of Healers and resistance workers,” Lucretia said with twinkling eyes. “I’m just staying loyal to the family ethos.”

“How Gryffindor of you.”

Lucretia threw her head back with an ear-splitting cackle. Luna snorted, and Ginny looked at them, baffled. “What?” she asked. “What did I say?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Ginny,” Lucretia said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “But the Agarwals are a long unbroken line of Slytherins.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. Lucretia laughed again, as did Luna. It took a few minutes to overcome her surprise, by which time Lucretia was wiping tears off the corner of her eyes.

“Thanks though,” Ginny said, sipping some more soup. “For saving my life. I owe you.”

“You don’t,” Lucretia said with a wave of her hand. “I would’ve done it for anybody. Hippocratic Oath y’know?”

And something about the way she said it made it all clear.

“ _You’re_ the benefactor!” Ginny gasped, her soup spoon clattering into the bowl. “You’re the one who supplies everyone – you helped Luna with her antitode!”

“Yup,” Lucretia said. “Another family tradition. If you hadn’t just been cursed, I would’ve made a joke about hexing you to make sure you didn’t talk, but I think that’s in poor taste. Besides, you’re trustworthy.”

She stood up, her amusement fading from her face. “We do have to talk about what to do next though,” she said quietly. “Delilah and Sue are the only others that know you’re here, and they won’t say anything, but I know people are looking for you. We need to inform your parents at the very least, and one of your superiors - whichever one you can trust.”

“Wait. Shit. You said I was out for a week,” Ginny said, heart dropping. The soup she ate felt like it was rising up her throat again. “The election…”

Lucretia’s expression was grim. She picked up a copy of the Prophet from the sideboard and passed it to Ginny.

**_CORNELIUS FUDGE WINS THIRD TERM IN OFFICE_ **

Underneath was a picture of Fudge speaking to at a podium. Ginny groaned. “Fuck,” she said. “Now what?”

“They’re already starting to move against the Aurors working on the Hippocrates Case,” Lucretia said. “They haven’t taken anyone in yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

“What about the Hippocrates members?” Ginny asked.

“We’re trying to keep them all safe,” Lucretia said. “After the second round of attacks – the one that got them all put under Ministry custody, I knew I had to have a backup plan.”

“Oh,” Ginny said.

“There’s another safehouse – won’t tell you where – but the Patil twins made it there yesterday, and Neville Longbottom too.”

“And Hermione?” Ginny asked. “Rolf? Penelope?”

“Hermione and Rolf are under Auror protection for now,” Lucretia said, though the worry was clear on her face. “None of them are alone at the moment. They’ve got quite a few family members with them, I made sure of that. Hermione’s in the Burrow with your parents and some of your brothers. We’re banking on the idea that the Aurors won’t force them into making a Vow if they’re surrounded by so many people.”

“What if they attack everyone else?” Ginny asked, heart racing in worry for her family.

“Unlikely,” Lucretia said. “It’s one thing to attack someone living alone, or a couple, but you can’t curse a family of five and expect people not to notice. They can’t afford to act out like that.”

“Is Penelope still at St. Mungo’s?” Ginny said.

“Yes,” Lucretia said. “But I know some Healers who’ll keep an eye out. We’ll try to get them all to the new safehouse when we can.”

Ginny’s insides felt like they were disintegrating as she tried to process all the new information. She almost wished she was still unconscious. Luna squeezed her hand.

“What’s happening at the Ministry now?” Ginny asked.

“Madam Bones has already been removed from her post,” Lucretia said, and Ginny’s heart dropped. “It was all very quiet. The public doesn’t know yet. Word on the inside is that they’re gearing up for a big trial.”

“Against us?” Ginny asked.

“It’s possible,” Lucretia said. “You and Luna have officially been classified as missing – there are Aurors on the hunt everywhere, posters, the works.”

“Shit.”

“Mmm,” Lucretia said, biting her lip. “I think it’s important that you get in touch with someone you trust as soon as you can. I can deliver the message.”

Ginny tapped a nail on the table. The best answer was Shacklebolt, but if Madam Bones had already been removed, then Fudge must’ve started with the higher ups and made his way down. It might be too dangerous to get a message to Shacklebolt or to Scrimgeour but…

“Can you help me write to Tonks?” Ginny asked. Lucretia nodded.

“Whatever you need,” she said, heading out of the room. “I’ll be right back.”

The door shut quietly behind her, leaving behind an awkward silence. Luna picked at her hangnails, and Ginny wracked her brains for something to say. She didn’t want to _not_ say anything to Luna, not after being out of commission for so long. As her heart began to race, Luna leaned a little closer.

“Hey.”

Ginny looked up, heart slowly calming as their eyes locked. Luna looked a little nervous, but she leaned in hesitantly. Ginny moved to meet her, their lips touching softly, slowly…

“I’m glad you’re here,” Luna whispered, her fingers finding Ginny’s and tightening around her hand. Ginny’s other hand slowly snaked around Luna’s neck and pulled her closer.

“I’m glad too,” she whispered. “Thank you for bringing me here. You saved me.”

“You saved me first,” Luna said, her nose brushing against Ginny’s. “Thank you.”

“I’d do it for you again,” Ginny said. “I wouldn’t even think twice.”

“Me too,” Luna said, pressing her lips to Ginny’s again. Then, there was no talking, only the sound of their quiet breathing, the feel of their heartbeats, and the soft kisses that made Ginny feel, even for just a moment, that everything would be alright.


	38. Chapter 38

**_THE DAILY PROPHET_ **

_Morning Edition_

**_CORNELIUS FUDGE WINS THIRD TERM IN OFFICE_ **

_Photographs: Colin Creevey_

**_(To listen to the Minister’s speech in its entirety, please tap the photograph below with your wand)_ **

_In a triumphant landslide victory last night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has successfully retained his position for a third term. The news was greeted by cheer and euphoria across wizarding Britain, with many agreeing that having an incumbent in office was the best way to keep things stable during uncertain times._

_“We’ve been growing a little concerned with the anti-Muggle attacks, and now with the attacks on the Hippocrates Society,” said a happy supporter who did not wish to be named. “But we’re confident that Minister Fudge will continue to do the right thing and have the perpetrators rounded up and sent to Azkaban.”_

_In his victory speech, the Minister made some allusions to structural shifts within the Ministry, though no specifications were given._

_“It is time to reward those who have been loyal to us,” he said at last night’s victory gathering. “To bring them closer and strengthen our community. You may see a few changes to the Ministry leadership in the coming weeks, but not to worry. All this is for the greater good.”_

_Candidates Amelia Bones and Peter Tuttle will be giving their concession speeches later this week._


	39. Chapter 39

A few days later, under the guise of Polyjuice and several strong Transfigurations, Ginny made her way to Tonks’ flat. She was now a perfect duplicate of Sue from the Cat O’ Nine Tails, right down to the height and broad shoulders, though if the potion wore off, she’d resemble a nondescript woman with none of her distinctive Weasley features. Her strength was up; she was eating solids again and could finally hold things without trembling, though Lucretia said that she’d need a few more weeks to snap back completely.

She approached the door and gave it a sharp knock. Fleur opened it, her pale eyes running over Ginny’s disguise and narrowing in suspicion.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here to meet Tonks,” Ginny said.

Fleur raised an eyebrow, blocking the gap in the doorway with her body, but before she could speak, Ginny heard Tonks’ voice from inside.

“Who is it?”

“Someone here to meet you,” Fleur said. Tonks emerged a moment later and promptly frowned at Ginny.

“Who’re you?”

“Twelfth June, twenty-four, thirty,” Ginny said. It was the password they’d agreed on in their letter; Tonks and Fleur’s wedding anniversary, Ginny’s Quidditch robes number, and her goal scoring average.

Fleur looked confused, but Tonks’ suspicion melted off her face and she gave a little whoop.

“Fuck,” she whispered, pulling Ginny into hug so tight that even with Sue’s much broader frame, she felt like she was being squeezed to bursting. “You’re here. In one piece.”

“All limbs accounted for.”

Tonks pulled away and looked her over, her face shining with relief. “It’s good to see you,” she said, ushering her inside, shutting the door quickly. “Who’re you disguised as? I was half ready to hex you right there.”

“You and me both,” Fleur muttered, bolting the door and casting additional locking spells on it.

“The bartender at The Cat,” Ginny said, shrugging off Sue’s cloak and hanging it on the rack by the door. Padma, Terry and Harry were clustered by the couch. “Hi all.”

Padma squinted at her. “Ginny?”

Ginny smiled. “Yup, it’s me.”

“Thank fuck.” Harry leapt off the couch to hug her, and Ginny let herself get engulfed in his arms, holding him back just as tight. It was strange to think that the last time she was this close to him, it had been Proudfoot in disguise.

“How’s Hermione?” she asked. “And everyone else?”

“They’re fine,” Harry said, stepping back and clearing his throat as he looked Ginny over. “Everyone’s worried sick about you. What happened?”

“Got fucking ambushed, didn’t we?” Ginny said, pulling up a stool and straddling it. Fleur gave Tonks a gentle kiss and excused herself, reiterating into one of the bedrooms.

“It was Celeste who ratted us out,” Padma said, her voice trembling with barely-suppressed fury. “We found out that night – but you and Luna had already left.”

“What?” Ginny said, heart dropping. “Celeste? Why?”

“She thought the Ministry had it right,” Padma said, clenching her fists. “Trusted them blindly - thought they were doing it for our own good.”

“Her actions weren’t ill-intentioned,” Tonks said, dragging a chair and sitting in front of them. “She genuinely thought she was reporting to the right people. She was the one that told Scrimgeour first, right after the first time we met here.”

Ginny balked. “So Scrimgeour —”

“Told her to keep it under wraps,” Tonks said.

“But she still blabbed, didn’t she?” Padma snapped. “Even after that! Went and told Dawlish everything. Who was on the case, how we had the Hippocrates members in safehouses —”

“That was a mistake definitely…”

“Why’re you defending her?” Padma snapped. Tonks shrugged.

“I’m not,” she said. “But it’s complicated.”

“You literally told us at the first private meeting that we couldn’t talk to anyone else about it,” Harry said. “I don’t see what’s so complicated about that. If she went to anyone else, that’s her fault.”

All of them glared at Tonks as though daring her to disagree. She didn’t, but she sighed, shrugging with an expression Ginny hadn’t seen since training. She was suddenly reminded of the conversation she’d had at Tonks’ desk at the beginning of the assignment, when Tonks had told her that it wasn’t up to them to decide who deserved protection and who didn’t.

“I’m not excusing her behaviour,” Tonks said slowly, rubbing her temples. “It led to an ambush, our headquarters almost being discovered, and Ginny and Luna…”

Her voice trembled and faded, and she glanced up, meeting Ginny’s eyes. “Were you both attacked?”

“Me more than Luna,” Ginny said. “I got in the way of a curse, and Luna Disapparated with me.”

Harry winced. Terry’s eyes were wide. Padma looked like she was going to explode.

“People could’ve died because Celeste talked!” she said, her ponytail whipping around and almost smacking Terry in the face as she turned towards Tonks again. “Ginny got cursed! It wasn’t like it was so hard to follow instructions - you told us not to talk. We didn’t talk!”

“I don’t think Celeste really understood how serious this was,” Tonks said. “Or maybe she did, and she thought we were doing the wrong thing by keeping it from Scrimgeour.” She shrugged again. “Either way, we should’ve been a little more transparent about how important it was that you didn’t speak.”

“I think you were plenty transparent,” Terry started to say, but Tonks shook her head.

“No,” she said. “We could’ve been a lot blunter about it. You lot don’t know how bad it’s been, having to sneak around to get things done. Cases that would’ve been standard fare, blatant acts of corruption —” she made a sweeping movement with her fingers, “— all brushed under the rug. Dolores fucking Umbridge breathing down all our necks.”

She hissed the last part of her sentence, suddenly furious, but the anger seemed to dissipate as quickly as it came. “The junior Aurors don’t see a lot of what’s going on,” she said. “You’re rookies, and upper management doesn’t think it’s necessary information to pass around. It was a risk, putting you on the case, but less of a risk than putting the others who might’ve caused some real harm to the Hippocrates members.”

Groaning, she leaned back in her chair with a hand over her face. The rest of them exchanged glances.

“Robards and I told Shacklebolt that we should tell you the whole truth,” Tonks continued, “but he felt like it would compromise the case if you had more information than necessary. We should’ve kept you in the loop. Maybe then Celeste —”

“It’s not your fault,” Ginny interrupted. “Stop blaming yourself. You gave us very clear instructions. None of us had a right to override that.”

When Tonks looked at her again, her eyes were shining with tears.

“I was so scared,” she whispered. “I didn’t know what happened to you. You - you were my trainee, I’m your direct superior - I offered you the job in the first place, and all I could think —”

Ginny leaned over and squeezed Tonks’ trembling hand. “Look, I’m fine,” she said. “You didn’t force me to join. I did that on my own. I knew the stakes, coming in.” She snorted. “Quidditch is still more dangerous than this. I’ve had worse injuries.”

Tonks gave her a watery chuckle. “Shut up,” she said.

“At least Celeste couldn’t give away any real addresses,” Harry said. “Since she’s not Secret Keeper.”

“They had the approximate location,” Ginny said. “Kept Apparating into the square. There were so many, we could barely hold them off…”

Terry had a deep frown on his face. “You were gone by the time I came out,” he said. “I could tell something was wrong the moment I opened the door so I told Parvati to go back inside. There were more of them waiting – you left a real mess by the way…”

“ _You_ try duelling that many at once,” Ginny scowled. “They were multiplying like fairies.”

“We managed to fight them off in the end, but we didn’t know where you’d gone,” Tonks said. “We got Parvati and Neville into the second Hippocrates safehouse, but the others are at home till we can arrange a safer location for them.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Ginny said. “So what now? What’s the plan? Is Madam Bones really out?”

“She is,” Tonks said grimly. “But it’s all been hushed up. There’s to be a full Wizengamot trial, but we’re being tried first. They’re giving the Aurors another week to find you and Padma and bring you in before they take us all to court. We’re effectively under house arrest till then.”

“What the fuck?” Ginny snarled, her fury roiling through her body like dragon’s breath. “And if you’re all meant to be under house arrest, how’re you here?”

“Unauthorised Portkeys,” Terry said, pointing at two purple teacups on the table. “The Ministry hasn’t got anyone patrolling our doors, but we’ve had anti-Apparition wards placed on our houses. Our Floos are being monitored.”

“Well that’s just fucking fantastic,” Ginny said, throwing her hands up. “How’re we getting out of this? And what are the charges?”

“Conspiracy to bring down Fudge,” Tonks said. “Your hunch was right. They’re going to pin the Hippocrates thing on us. Say Madam Bones orchestrated the whole thing to try to win the election.”

Ginny groaned, putting her hands over her face. “Fuck. You think we’ll get off?”

“No chance,” Padma said gloomily. “Not unless the public gets to hear what Fudge really has to say about everything.”

“They won’t let the press into the courtroom though, will they?” Harry asked.

“There might be someone from the press department,” Tonks said, rubbing her temples again. “They usually have a correspondent for the high-profile trials. They did in last war… wait they had Prophet journalists there too. And a photographer. Photographer’s always standard for the records.”

Ginny, who’d been slumping on her stool, suddenly perked. “Photographer you say?” she said.

“Yeah,” Tonks said. “Why?”

Ginny tapped her foot on the ground, thoughts churning as violently as the ocean during a storm. An excited buzzing started to fill every inch of her body, not entirely dissimilar to the kind of thing she felt right before a Quidditch match. The idea was ludicrous, and she felt half embarrassed about voicing it out. It was something that hinged on an absurd amount of luck, some carefully pulled strings, and an accepted apology.

“I think,” she said, staring at all of them in turn, “I might know something that could help...”

* * *

Later that evening, long after the Polyjuice had worn off, Ginny Apparated to Romilda’s flat and knocked on the door. Her hands shook a little. It was the first time she’d been back here since the start of the assignment. The memory of their last argument hung heavy over her head.

She untransfigured her disguise when Romilda opened the door in her dressing gown, wisps of hair falling out of her bun onto her face. The minute she registered Ginny, her jaw dropped.

“Hey,” Ginny said, watching her face run through shock, relief, and then immediate fury. The door began to close. “No, wait!” Ginny said, sticking her hand through the gap, regretting it immediately as it slammed onto her wrist.

“Ow, fuck.”

“Ginny, if you don’t leave right now, I’ll chop your hand off and I won’t even use my wand to do it.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Ginny said. “But I need something.”

“Go away!”

“I also have an apology!”

There was a pause. The door creaked open slowly. Romilda glowered at her, arms crossed. Ginny cradled her wrist.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t have tried to barge in. And I really shouldn’t have said the Howler was a dying magazine.”

“Circulation’s higher than it’s ever been,” Romilda said with a disdainful sniff. “I can barely keep up.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Ginny said, and not wanting to have the door slammed in her face again, launched into her statement. “Listen, I need a favour.”

Romilda sighed. “Look Ginny, I’m glad you’re safe and all, but I really don’t think…”

“I have a story about the Hippocrates Case?” Ginny murmured. “Everything you’ve been wanting me to tell you for the past couple of months. I can tell you. Everything. No holds barred.”

Romilda paused, narrowing her eyes at her. Ginny bit her lip, hoping, hoping…

Then, she seemed to relax a little. “I’m listening,” she said.

“Can I come in?” Ginny asked. “I won’t stay too long, it’s just…” She looked around. “I’d rather not be overheard.”

Romilda pursed her lips “Fine,” she said, ushering Ginny in and closing the door. “But you can’t sit down.”

Ginny grimaced. “That’s fine.”

Romilda locked her door and Ginny looked around. Plenty of nights had passed on this very threshold, both of them communicating with very little words; Romilda pressed up against some surface or another while Ginny magicked her clothes away.

It was strange. All of it felt like memories from another lifetime, even though the last time they’d been here like that was barely two months ago.

“So,” Romilda said, narrowing her eyes when Ginny didn’t speak immediately. “Talk.”

“Alright,” Ginny said, putting her hands in her pockets. “The favour first though - how d’you feel about collaborating with Colin Creevey?”

Romilda raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”


	40. Chapter 40

Ginny had never been in the lower levels of the Ministry before.

Even if she hadn’t been walking to her own trial, she wouldn’t have wanted to be there. There was something grim about the stone corridors, not in the shivery, curse-tinged manner of Grimmauld Place, but like a slow walk to the gallows.

She, Harry, Padma and Terry were being tried together; Tonks and Robards would have a separate trial, Shacklebolt another, and Madam Bones, her own final one. If things went badly, Ginny would have no way of keeping up with the rest of the proceedings. She didn’t want to think about it.

Her fingers inched towards her necklace, reaching for her pendant. It grew warm under her fingers. There had not been a new message on it in years, but now, she watched the words _Friends_ disappear, making room for something new.

_I love you. Always will._

In that moment, Ginny thought she’d fall to pieces from how much she ached for Luna. Her body felt fragmented, cracking in the centre of her chest and rocketing outwards, completely destabilising every limb. She’d had a moment to say goodbye to her parents before coming down to the courtrooms, but the last time she’d spoken to Luna was the night before. They’d held each other tight, knowing that it might be their last time seeing each other ever again, crying through kisses and whispered declarations of love. If anything, Ginny thought, at least she’d had the chance to explore something with her. It was strange how giving into her feelings for Luna had felt like the worst mistake, but now it felt like the only sane thing she’d done in a while.

It had been impossible to disengage herself from Luna that morning. Lucretia had pulled them apart gently and put her arms around Luna, and Delilah helped Ginny walk away. Ginny wouldn’t forget Luna’s face; pale as a sheet, lower lip trembling, eyes brimming with tears as she tried her best to keep herself together. It had broken Ginny to pieces.

Outside the courtroom, she took a deep breath and slipped her fingers through Padma’s clammy hand. Harry and Terry looked tense, jaws tight, eyes narrowed, hands in their pockets.

“I’m scared,” Padma whispered. “What’s going to happen to Parvati if they chuck me in Azkaban?”

“She’ll be well looked after, don’t worry,” Ginny said, squeezing her hand. “Lucretia will make sure she’s safe.”

The large wooden doors of the courtroom creaked open, and a Wizengamot officer ushered them in. Ginny took a deep breath, pulling her hand out of Padma’s before walking inside.

Four chairs had been set out for them in the centre of the room. The chains on the arms gleamed as Ginny took her seat, but to her relief, they did not bind her to the chair. She kept her face stoic, studying the plum-robed Wizengamot in front of her.

Dolores Umbridge sat next to Fudge, smiling indulgently at all of them. Scrimgeour sat a few seats away. His expression was impassive, but Ginny knew that he’d been trying to lobby for lighter sentences for all of them. It remained to be seen whether Fudge would be lenient, though Ginny and the rest of the junior Aurors were more likely to get away than everybody above them. At worst, she hoped, it would be a demotion to desk work, or even to a different department. Even getting sacked would be preferable, though she shuddered at the thought of Tonks or Robards being carted off to Azkaban.

She also spotted Percy a few seats away from Fudge, giving her a look that she couldn’t quite read. Things had been tense between him and the family ever since he’d joined the Ministry and moved up the ranks, but Ginny wondered if he’d go as far as to support her conviction, especially at a show trial. Percy pushed his glasses up his nose, but Ginny noticed a tightness in his jaw that she usually associated with oncoming exams. A small sense of sadness fluttered in her chest; if the worst happened and she was sent to Azkaban, she knew she’d miss Percy too.

“Let us begin,” Fudge said, and the scribe began to take notes. “Ginevra Weasley, Harry Potter, Terry Boot, and Padma Patil. You have been brought here in front of the Wizengamot to answer charges relating to offences committed under the Dangerous Crimes Act of fifteen-twenty-five, and the Treasonous Crimes Act of thirteen-twenty…”

Ginny took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She could see the curious eyes of the Wizengamot roaming over the four of them. There was a Daily Prophet correspondent in the second row, sitting next to a weedy looking witch from the Ministry’s press department. Colin Creevey sat next to her, clutching his camera and eyeing Fudge.

“The charges against the accused are as follows,” Fudge said, picking up a piece of parchment and unrolling it. “That they did, knowingly and deliberately, under orders from the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, attack six members of the Hippocrates Society on two separate occasions each, in addition to subjecting two members, Neville Longbottom and Parvati Patil, to the Unbreakable Vow…”

A buzz of mutters followed Parvati’s name. Everyone’s eyes closed in on Padma, who kept her gaze fixed firmly on Fudge, even as her fists tightened over the arms of the chair. Ginny gritted her teeth and tried to keep her breathing steady.

“That they did knowingly and deliberately conspire against the Head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour, and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, with the intention of misleading public opinion and swaying the election in favour of Amelia Bones…”

This was new. They were being charged with manipulating the election too? Ginny took another deep breath and closed her eyes, imagining herself leaping onto Fudge and throttling him with her bare hands. A wave of hot fury sizzled through her. It took everything she had not to interrupt the proceedings.

“… deliberately attacked members of the Auror Office when they arrived at Grimmauld Place to arrest them,” Fudge said, rolling up his parchment and staring at all of them. Ginny opened her eyes and stared right back, determined not to move or say anything.

“We will now hear the evidence against you,” Fudge said, “before the matter is put to a vote…”

“We’re not going to get to speak in our defense?” Padma asked, her voice ringing across the courtroom. Everyone fell silent. Fudge smiled.

“Well, certainly, if you wish to speak, Ms Patil,” he said. “The weight of the evidence against you however, will be difficult to argue against.”

Percy shifted in his seat and he caught Ginny’s eye. There was a flash of discomfort across his face, a little frown that creased his brow. Ginny’s heart clenched. Percy pushed his glasses up again, clasping his fingers tight together and biting his lip.

“Shall we begin?” Fudge said, and without waiting for an answer, gestured to someone by the door.

The testimonies were difficult to listen to. All the evidence was technically the truth, effectively stopping them from being able to refute it on the spot. With the rush of anxiety and anger flooding her body, Ginny couldn’t even begin to form a convincing counter-argument. She’d expected outright lies, things she could fight against, but this was much worse. Her thoughts couldn’t knit together anything plausible to defend herself, even as every inch of her being screamed at her to retaliate. She sat tight, pursing her lips and gritting her teeth, watching themselves be torn apart.

But when they got to Proudfoot’s testimony, Ginny had enough.

“I have something to say,” she said, as Fudge began to dismiss Proudfoot. The courtroom fell silent and everyone’s eyes trained on her. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and an egg-sized lump grew in her throat.

“By all means,” Fudge said.

“Proudfoot approached me under the guise of Polyjuice,” Ginny said, struggling to keep her voice steady. “He performed the Imperius Curse on me while I was at my desk at the Auror Office and forced me to lead him to the safehouse where my charge was being kept.”

The fact of the Imperius had been missing from Proudfoot’s testimony. Everyone started muttering again, but Ginny steeled herself and continued.

“The safehouse was under the Fidelius Charm and I was not the Secret Keeper. The most I was able to do was bring him in front of it. My superior, Gawain Robards helped me disarm him. We took him to the Clostra because he posed a threat.”

Fudge frowned. “How did Robards know to assist you?”

Ginny swallowed. This was the part that was going to be the hardest sell, mostly because she still wasn’t sure of the truth behind it.

“I hexed the front door and tripped a ward.”

“Since you say Auror Proudfoot was under the guise of Polyjuice, who was he disguised as?”

Ginny groaned. “Auror Potter.”

The muttering grew louder. Harry shifted uncomfortably. Fudge raised an eyebrow.

“And you’re saying Robards then attacked him while he was disguised as someone who was working with you?” he asked.

“I managed to hex him,” Ginny said, and then, spotting Percy’s expression, quickly amended her statement. “I hexed him - as a reflex to having been cursed - and I then informed Robards…”

“Forgive me,” Fudge said. “But are you attempting to say that Proudfoot forced your hand into attacking your own safehouse, or that you threw off the Imperius Curse enough to warn your superior?”

Ginny’s anxiety burst forth, wrapping its frosty self around her throat, making her lungs burn. “Listen I don’t know which it was —”

“Well it has to be one or the other, and quite frankly, neither one of those explanations are in your favour Auror Weasley,” Fudge said, making Ginny feel like a scolded child. “It sounds to me as though you’re trying to cover up launching an attack on the safehouse you were meant to guard, or you’re selling us a story about being under the Imperius Curse - you understand this is not a something that can be resisted, it will put you under the caster’s complete control…”

Ginny couldn’t respond. Everyone around seemed to be agreeing with Fudge and she didn’t know how to convince them otherwise.

“I’m telling you what I know,” she insisted. “We didn’t take him to the Clostra for no reason —”

“But it was unauthorised,” Fudge said. “All arrests must be filed, which none of you did. This is not a vigilante organisation, Auror Weasley, this is the Ministry of Magic. We have a system in place, a system that is designed to prevent employees from going rogue like you have.”

“But —”

“Can you honestly say this was an authorised arrest and interrogation?” Fudge asked. “Even if you had taken him to the Clostra without informing the Head Auror first, it became swiftly clear that you had never had any intent of doing so.”

Ginny couldn’t exactly disagree. Fudge was right. Even if Robards and Shacklebolt had allowed it, they’d still gone under Scrimgeour’s back because they hadn’t trusted him at the time.

Staying silent felt physically painful. She looked at Scrimgeour, who was giving her a stern look. If all went well and Scrimgeour played his part properly, things would be fine. They needed someone on the inside to help secure their releases.

But if this went badly and Scrimgeour double crossed them…

Padma spoke up in her defence. “With all due respect Minister,” she said. “Using the Imperius Curse on a colleague is already an imprisonable offence. The law is extremely clear on the matter. I don’t think anybody had to clear the arrest with the Head Auror - and quite frankly, no one clears any arrests beforehand, even if a memo is sent later —”

“But there was no intention of sending a memo was there?” Fudge said. “No, all of you did it together, behind Rufus Scrimgeour’s back, without his knowledge, deliberately destabilising the Auror Office for your own gain.”

“I do not mean to be impertinent,” Padma said. “But the SOP states that the Head or Deputy Head Auror should be informed immediately when an arrest is made. Auror Weasley informed Auror Shacklebolt, who oversaw the matter afterwards. She’s done nothing outside procedure.”

“But this, Ms Patil,” Fudge said, giving her an indulgent smile, “is merely more evidence of the schism between Auror Shacklebolt and Auror Scrimgeour, and unfortunately, does not help Auror Weasley’s case nearly as much as you’d think.”

A whimpering noise escaped Padma’s throat, but Ginny couldn’t even reach out to hold her hand, lest the chains on the chair sprung to life.

More testimonies were given. Ginny and Padma began arguing against them in earnest, and even Harry and Terry started speaking up. The chains clinked menacingly, but as things grew to a head, Fudge banged the gavel for order and shut them down.

“I think we have heard quite enough,” he said. “Now, if you please, the Wizengamot shall deliberate, and then, the verdict…”

It was almost impossible to sit and let it happen. Ginny sat on her hands and squirmed, knowing that whatever she said would probably hurt their case more than help. She caught Percy’s eye again; her brother’s gaze darted to Fudge and then to Scrimgeour, and then back to her. Ginny looked at the floor instead. Distant though they may be, she really didn’t want her last sight of Percy to be in a courtroom.

The verdict came as no surprise, but Ginny felt like the sentencing itself was a death knell. Five years, with a lifetime ban on seeking Ministry employment after their release. It was the sort of thing that could make it harder for them to find any work at all.

“Might I speak, for a moment?” Scrimgeour asked, as the Wizengamot began to stir in their seats. Fudge nodded and gestured at him, and Scrimgeour turned to address the courtroom. “I am aware that, in light of their lower rank, the court has been gracious in granting these Aurors a lighter sentence…”

Ginny’s gut twisted again as a frisson of fear sparked through her. She knew she didn’t have a choice but to trust Scrimgeour, but if he was double crossing, she knew she’d regret not having fought harder, even if it was a losing battle.

“…I ask that you reduce their sentences to three years in the Clostra, and the final two in Azkaban.”

“The Clostra…” Fudge began.

“Is only a temporary detainment facility, I am aware,” Scrimgeour said. “I ask for leniency nonetheless. They were not instigators, and from all I have learned, it seems that they were merely following orders.”

“The Death Eaters were also merely following orders, Scrimgeour,” Fudge said, but another witch spoke up.

“I agree with Scrimgeour,” she said, looking behind her. “Please grant us a moment to deliberate the matter.”

Fudge couldn’t refuse her, but it was clear he wanted to. His face turned red, then purple, and he grunted and gave a jerk of his head. Ginny let out a short breath of relief. The Clostra was horrendous, but it would allow her to exist in a much better condition than even a day in Azkaban would.

By some stroke of luck, their sentences were commuted. The Aurors arrived to escort them away, but Ginny saw Scrimgeour getting up from and rushing towards them. She lost sight of him for a moment in the swirling, purple-robed crowd, and they were dragged outside before he emerged again, pushing his way through everybody and waving the Aurors away before dragging them into a smaller courtroom.

“We’re fucked,” Padma said, as soon as the door shut. “We’re so fucked…”

“You won’t be,” Scrimgeour said. “I won’t let you be.”

Ginny could only stare at him. She wanted to speak, but her tongue was dry and her throat felt like it was closing.

“The Aurors will escort you to the Clostra now,” Scrimgeour said quietly. “You will be held separately, but that’s standard procedure for everybody. There will be a meal given to you tonight, make sure you eat it all. If all goes terribly and you get carted off to Azkaban in the morning anyway, it might be the last real meal you get to eat for a while until I can secure your release.”

“That makes me feel a lot better, thanks,” Harry said. Scrimgeour shook his head.

“I am going to try to stay your transportation for as long as possible,” he said. “I don’t put it past Fudge to do something about it…”

“I don’t want to go to Azkaban,” Padma whispered, and Ginny gripped her hand.

“Be prepared for the worst-case scenario,” Scrimgeour said. “But know that I will do everything in my power to stop it from happening. I am not losing the only good Aurors I have left to the whims of an egotistical bastard.”

He looked at Ginny and gave her a curt nod. “I’ll make sure Creevey’s where he needs to be,” he said. Ginny’s eyes widened.

“How’d you know —”

“I have my ways,” Scrimgeour said. “Now. Stand straight. You have not been defeated yet.”

He opened the door and strode out. The Aurors came in again, frogmarching them out of the room, but the outside corridor was already empty. The Wizengamot had cleared out fast, leaving behind only Fudge, Scrimgeour, Percy, and Dolores Umbridge.

As she was dragged off, Ginny saw Percy rushing towards Fudge, and Colin creeping behind them, the glint of a camera underneath his robes.

“Minister,” Percy said, panting as he pushed his glasses up. “What if the Aurors families begin to protest - I’m sure they won’t be happy about —”

“Well you’ll see to it that your family will be kept in check won’t you?” Fudge said dismissively. Ginny kept very still, listening, watching Colin. The lifts clattered from a great distance away.

“But they’re bound to disagree, especially with so many others…”

“The wizarding world doesn’t know what’s good for it,” Fudge snapped. “It’s up to us to decide that for them, and if it means locking up anybody who threatens to destabilise order, so be it.”

The lifts arrived finally, masking the tiny click of the camera that Ginny would’ve missed had she not been watching.

She caught Percy’s eye. To her immense surprise, Percy gave her a tiny thumbs-up sign from underneath his robes.

Scrimgeour’s next move was almost missed too. With Percy tangling Fudge up in conversation, Scrimgeour’s arm swooped over Colin, leaving a shimmering patch of air in his wake. Neither Umbridge nor Fudge had noticed; they were too focused on shutting down Percy’s incessant questioning.

The last thing Ginny saw as she was dragged into the lift was Scrimgeour’s final nod to her; his jaw set, eyes stern, expression stoic but determined as he stood with Fudge. Ginny’s stomach lurched. The grille clattered closed, but she clutched her pendant and clung onto hope, clung onto hope, clung onto hope…


	41. Chapter 41

_ Two weeks later _

**_THE HOWLER_ **

**_Special Edition_ **

**_Reliable, unbiased, timely news, not sensationalist screaming_ **

**_Bureaucratic Overhaul: Will the new Ministry stand up to expectations?_ **

**_Romilda Vane_ **

**_Photographs by Colin Creevey_ **

_It’s been a week since Cornelius Fudge’s unfortunate expose (fortunate for the rest of us), and the Ministry of Magic is now going through an extreme internal overhaul. Good thing too, if it was run by people who thought that us electing them into office meant that we were granting them some sort of immortal power to control the rest of us as they wished. Can you believe Fudge actually said (very casually might I add) that he was waiting for the trials to be wrapped up so he could travel to Lisbon for New Year’s and put it all behind him? Just as relaxed as anything, like he hadn’t just wrongfully imprisoned a whole bunch of people! The audacity…_

_With Amelia Bones now instated as Minister by popular demand, the Ministry is taking a more transparent approach to their structural adjustments. It’s hard to think that just weeks ago, we were looking at half the Auror Office being tried and ready to be carted off to Azkaban, only for it to be revealed as a complete scam. A lot has happened in a very short span of time, and people are still struggling to understand everything. Nonetheless, we at the Howler are as pleased to note that the Aurors were only detained in an undisclosed location for a few days before being released. While the Ministry has not released a report on their current status, I have it on good authority that they are no longer at risk of illegal detention._

_Joining us for an interview today is a Ministry representative and member of the Hippocrates Society, Ms Hermione Granger. Please tap the photographs below to listen to the interview in its entirety. For accessibility purposes, we have also provided a full transcript of the interview below._

**_[begin transcript]_ **

**_Romilda Vane:_ ** _Thanks for joining us today, Hermione, it’s good to have you with us again. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I’m very pleased that you’re safe and that the people who did this are finally being prosecuted for it._

**_Hermione Granger:_ ** _You and me both, Romilda. This has been going on for a lot longer than any of us have been aware, which is quite frankly, one of the most frightening things about all of this._

**_RV:_ ** _I know a lot of people have been confused about the release of the pictures - some of them insist that there’s no way of proving that Fudge really said those things, some are accusing Colin of charming the pictures to say whatever he wanted them to say. Would you be able to clear those rumours up for us?_

**_HG:_ ** _You’ve recently published an interview with wizarding artists and photographers who all agree that Colin’s new photographs capture the truth of the situation without embellishments. Portraits are charmed to capture the essence of the subject but photographs are developed very differently. What you get in a photograph is often a silent replication of the events as they were. All Colin did was find a way to add sound —_

**_RV:_ ** _Which worked in all of our favour_

**_HG:_ ** _Exactly. There will always be people refusing to believe and I can understand that. It’s a lot to wrap your head around, but it’s necessary to try._

**_RV:_ ** _I remember leaving Hogwarts and not understanding why people such a big issue out of Muggle rights when the Statute existed to keep our worlds apart, but then I realised that as long as we have Muggleborns in our society - and we always will - we can’t ignore Muggle mistreatment and pretend it doesn’t happen to us._

**_HG:_ ** _Exactly._

**_RV:_ ** _That’s why I started the Howler in the first place. To talk about things like this, things that people don’t really like thinking about. The extent of corruption at the Ministry was a lot to take in, even for me._

**_HG:_ ** _As it was for a lot of people._

**_RV:_ ** _Could you talk us through what happened with the Burdock Corporation? And maybe in a way that’s easier to understand than the primers that the Ministry’s been releasing…_

**_HG: [laughs]_ ** _The Burdock Corporation was founded at the end of the last war. A lot of people had been harmed in some way, and people took advantage and started peddling false cures. The Ministry created Burdock as an oversight board - people could report false cures to them and they’d investigate, and in the meantime, there was a very strong campaign urging people to go to St. Mungo’s for healing and not to trust anyone else_

**_RV:_ ** _How did it end up becoming the way it is now? It keeps cures from people instead of encouraging safe healing_

**_HG:_ ** _People saw an opportunity to make money out of it. There were people high up in the Ministry who were eager to make more gold, especially if they could make it by legitimate means. On paper, Burdock functioned as storage unit to keep cures from being tampered with, but until very recently, there weren’t any laws from preventing inventors from putting a high price on their cures._

_RV: And that’s different now?_

**_HG:_ ** _The International Confederation of Wizards outlawed it some months before the second wave of attacks on the Hippocrates Society_

**_RV:_ ** _But there’s talks now of Burdock being dissolved as an entity. Do you think that’ll cause any problems?_

**_HG:_ ** _Burdock in its original form was necessary. Safe healing should be accessible to everyone – but I have to note at this juncture that there are other types of healing magic outside St. Mungo’s that are still valuable and effective. Still, there needs to be some sort of oversight board. People shouldn’t get away with being able to pass around shoddy cures, or make money off them._

**_RV:_ ** _What do you think the Ministry will do about it?_

**_HG:_ ** _I can’t really say. I personally don’t know, but knowing Minister Bones, we’ll probably see stricter legislation down the line. We’ll just have to keep an eye out._

**_RV:_ ** _Would you be able to tell us a little bit about the attacks? If you’re able?_

**_HG:_ ** _Burdock approached members of the Hippocrates Society whenever one of us formulated a successful cure. They tried to persuade us to sell the cures, but that goes against our oath - we’re here to heal whoever we can, to the best of our abilities. When we refused, they tried to force our hand. In my case, they attacked my husband - he was just my fiancé at the time - and it was serious enough that he had to go to St. Mungo’s for a while. I was afraid they’d do worse next time, so I sold my cure to keep them off my back, but they came back earlier this year to try to force me into making an Unbreakable Vow so I wouldn’t speak of what had happened._

**_RV:_ ** _And all this was Ministry’s sanctioned?_

**_HG:_ ** _Yes. Some of the assailants were Aurors_

**_RV:_ ** _Wow…_

**_HG:_ ** _I managed to escape, but some others weren’t so lucky. Three out of the six of us were forced to make the Vow. One of us almost died_

**_RV:_ ** _Penelope Clearwater? She’s still in St. Mungo’s_

_HG: Indefinitely, yes, but we’re hoping for a swift recovery for her._

**_RV:_ ** _And the Ministry - well, Fudge’s administration rather - tried to pin it on the Auror Office?_

**_HG:_ ** _A faction of the Auror Office was loyal to Madam Bones, and they’d learned the truth about what had happened to us while handling our case. Fudge knew he couldn’t afford to have them continue working at the Ministry, so he set up the trials to try to lock them up, keep them from talking. But most of our families had been told the truth by then, and even if Colin’s photographs hadn’t been released, people would’ve started to talk. The Ministry would’ve started feeling some pressure. I don’t think they could’ve gotten away with it very cleanly._

**_RV:_ ** _Would’ve been harder though I think, with Fudge still in charge. He would’ve found some way to silence them_

**_HG:_ ** _No doubt_

**_RV:_ ** _I’m sorry to hear about what you’ve been through. No one should have to endure that_

**_HG:_ ** _If it hadn’t been for the Howler releasing those pictures and the report on the case, none of this would’ve happened_

**_RV:_ ** _I’m just doing right by the people_

**_[contd. overleaf]_ **

_For more reports about the Burdock Corporation, turn to page 3._

_For updates on the Hippocrates case, turn to page 5._

_For more about how Fudge has been fudging things for the past couple of decades, turn to page 6._

* * *

**_We at the Howler will always support independent journalism free from institutional bias. Our work would not be possible without your valuable donations, keeping us in print and allowing us to distribute to those who cannot afford to pay. Support us for a minimum of 5 sickles per month, easily deposited into the pouch accompanying each delivery owl_ **


	42. Chapter 42

_ Two months later _

The rain drenched streets under Diagon Alley gleamed every colour of the rainbow underneath the neon lights. Ginny was pressed up against a wall between the Wailing Walrus and the Ruby Red, listening to the muffled music inside. A group of people shrieked and ran across the street, trying to avoid the downpour. Ginny glanced at her watch for the second time in ten minutes; Luna was running late.

A frisson of worry ran through her body, twisting her gut into knots, but she tried to put it out of mind. No one was after them anymore… as far as they knew anyway, but all things considered, they were safe for the time being.

A couple stumbled out of the Ruby Red, the cacophony of music and chatter spilling onto the street with them. An umbrella popped open and the door clattered shut, muffling the sound again. Ginny smiled.

“Ahem.”

The couple underneath the umbrella turned. Fleur’s smile emerged before Tonks’ surprised grin.

“Ginny!”

The umbrella bumped against the wall as they leaned in to hug her. Ginny held tight before pulling away. “Heading home already?” she asked.

“Of course,” Tonks said, cheeks flushed as pink as her hair. Ginny snorted.

“You should get on before this gets worse,” she said, gesturing at the sky. Tonks and Fleur looked up.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be bad tonight,” Tonks said. “What are you doing here alone? Waiting for someone? You should wait inside, you’ll get soaked.”

“I told Luna I’d meet her here,” Ginny said. “She’s running a little late.”

Tonks smiled, but Ginny didn’t miss the sudden flash of worry. “Date night?” she said, and Ginny nodded. “Good on you. You’ll need it after the months we’ve had.”

“You need it more than I do I think,” Ginny said. “You’ll be dealing with this for a while.” Tonks just laughed.

Thanks to a perfectly cast Disillusionment Charm and a bit of careful prodding on Percy’s part, Colin had managed to get a whole series of highly incriminating photographs of Fudge revealing details of the Hippocrates case. Though the release of the photos had immediately led to everyone’s acquittal, things at the Ministry had grown unfathomably stressful. With a large chunk of the Auror Office suspended and pending further investigation, Ginny’s own suspension had to be postponed so that they could deal with the rush of paperwork. Two months later, she was still drowning in parchment. She often went into the office early in the morning, barely making it back in time for dinner some nights, often returning way afterwards, but she wasn’t alone. Everyone was buckling under the weight. The other day, Ginny had left the Ministry at half past three in the morning and trudged in five hours later to see Harry slumped over his desk, passed out in exhausted. The glut of work made her feel guilty about her plans to quit; the decision weighed her down every night as she sank into bed next to Luna, and dragged her further every morning when she opened her eyes.

“Well, don’t let me keep you,” Ginny said, gesturing across the street, but Tonks shook her head.

“I’ll wait for Luna to get here. Where are you two headed?”

“The Cat,” Ginny said. “Finally going to see Lucretia performing.”

“I have been wanting to see Lucretia perform for a while now,” Fleur said, eyeing Tonks in a way that implied they’d had this conversation before. “I have heard many good things about her. But I would prefer some company while I was there.”

“Well there’s nothing stopping you from going to see her with other friends,” Tonks said. Fleur rolled her eyes.

“Well then if you don’t mind, I might just go with Ginny and Luna tonight —”

“No don’t!” Tonks said immediately. “We’ve been planning this for months, I don’t know when I’ll have time again…”

Ginny chuckled, watching them bicker as she looked around the street. Still no sign of Luna. She checked her watch.

“She should be alright,” Tonks said gently.

“If she doesn’t show up in fifteen minutes, we will help you start looking,” Fleur said. Ginny smiled.

“Thanks guys,” she said. “It’s fine. I’m sure it’s fine…”

Tonks squeezed Ginny’s arm. “It’s okay to be worried,” she said. “After what you’ve been through, both of you? I can understand.”

Ginny nodded, but she was trying to swallow around the growing lump in her throat. The restless feeling that had sunk to the pit of her stomach since her trial returned in full force.

She and Luna were both staying at the Lovegood house, which was now warded with almost every protective charm aside from the Fidelius. There was no Apparating in or out, the fireplace had been disconnected from the Floo, and they had an anti-Portkey jinx spreading miles beyond the garden, but Ginny still looked over her shoulder whenever she came or went. Sleep was difficult for the both of them; whenever they managed to fall into a difficult rest, nightmares woke them within hours, leaving them grasping for each other in the dark. Ginny knew they needed to talk to someone about it, but they just hadn’t found the time to discuss anything beyond where they wanted to take their relationship.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be quitting,” Ginny said, shoving her hands in her pockets. “With everything going on - Luna and I aren’t the only ones feeling this way. There’s so much work and...”

She trailed off with a shrug, staring at the ground. Tonks sighed. “So you’re really quitting then?”

Ginny shrugged again, kicking a pebble. “Feels bad to. But I want to. I miss Quidditch too much but…” She sighed, wiping a stray raindrop off her forehead. “Feels like I’m going from doing tangible good to - showing off on a broom.”

“What makes you think Quidditch isn’t tangible good?” Fleur asked, looking oddly stern. “Does it not make people happy?”

Ginny frowned. “Well yeah, but —”

“Does it not give people something to look forward to? Something that excites them?”

“Yeah, but —”

“Then your Quidditch career is valuable too,” Fleur said. “Bring happiness into people’s lives isn’t something you should discount, Ginny.”

Ginny chuckled. “You _could_ argue that the better I do at Quidditch, the more despair I bring to anyone who doesn’t support my team.”

Fleur looked unimpressed. “You know what I mean,” she said. “When you were playing for the Harpies, their fans were always so excited. That’s a good thing, Ginny. The ripple effect of happiness is something very important.”

“I suppose,” Ginny said as Tonks took Fleur’s hand and kissed it.

“If you’re going overseas,” Fleur said. “You should play for a French team. Much better than the British.”

Tonks groaned. “We are not having this argument again.”

“There is no argument,” Fleur said blithely. “It’s just facts.”

Ginny laughed, but someone came rushing up to them before she could respond. “I’m so sorry! I got very held up - oh hello Tonks! Oh, and Fleur too!”

Ginny’s knees almost buckled with relief. Luna was absolutely drenched, her robes sticking to her body, hair in wet, straggly wisps around her face. She was pink cheeked and shivering a little, but she gave Ginny a big kiss and a hug.

“It started coming down while I was walking and I couldn’t cast a strong enough Impervious Charm,” she said, “and I didn’t have an umbrella, and it took me so long to get to Flourish and Blotts, but then I realised I couldn’t carry the books down here, so I’ve asked them to leave them for me to collect tomorrow.”

“That’s good,” Ginny said, waving her wand over Luna’s clothes, slowly drying them off. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Luna smiled, but her teeth were still chattering. In the months following the attack and Ginny’s trial, they’d discovered that Luna’s magic had been stoppered somehow. Trauma, the Healers had said, when they went into St Mungo’s. With weekly treatments, she seemed to be inching back to her own. Basic spells were no longer a problem, though Ginny noticed that Luna seemed to find it harder to do magic when she was stressed or agitated.

Fleur waved her wand over Luna, drying her in an instant. Ginny blinked, realising what had happened only a few seconds later.

“You were too slow,” was Fleur’s only comment.

With promises to meet for dinner when they found some more spare time, Ginny and Luna waved goodbye to Tonks and Fleur and started making their way to the Cat O’ Nine Tails. Ginny’s Impervious Charm held the rain off them for the most part, though it splashed on their feet and onto their clothes. Holding Luna close, she tried to avoid the puddles.

“I’m glad you made it safe,” Ginny said. Luna kissed her again.

“I’m sorry if you worried,” she said. “I know it frightens you.”

“It’s okay,” Ginny said. “We’ll have to get used to regular life again.”

“You should’ve waited inside the Ruby Red.”

“I didn’t want you to worry if you couldn’t see me immediately,” Ginny said. “We agreed we’d meet outside. Didn’t think it would rain like this.”

The bright purple sign for the Cat O’Nine Tails came into view. Luna beamed when she saw it. “Are you excited?” she asked, turning to look at Ginny and chuckling at the look on her face. “Oh no. You don’t look very excited.”

“I don’t know!” Ginny yelped, cheeks burning, even as the rain grew heavier around them. “What happens if I get really turned on?”

“That’s perfectly alright, Ginevra,” Luna said. “But if you’re to uncomfortable, it’s fine. We can go sit at the bar if you feel overwhelmed. I even booked a private room in case you wanted to lie down.”

Ginny smiled. “You’re prepared for this.”

“Yeah,” Luna grinned. “It’s fine. I told Lu you might need some private time, especially if she’s doing her Nine Tails act tonight.”

Ginny shivered. It had nothing to do with the rain. “Does she _really_ do the thing with the…”

“Yup,” Luna said. “It’s really impressive. I think you’ll like watching it. But if we don’t go inside soon we’ll miss the first bit, and that’s one of the best parts.”

As her words left her mouth, a resounding cheer came from inside. Luna tugged Ginny’s hand and they stumbled inside to see Delilah announcing on the stage. She was dressed in sparkling orange tonight, with glittering fringe hanging off the ends of her sleeves. “ _Are you guys ready_?” she yelled, and the crowd cheered even louder, drowning them in a wave of noise.

“Oh brilliant, they’re only just starting,” Luna said, shrugging off her cloak. Ginny took hers off as well, shrinking both hers and Luna’s and putting it into the pocket of her button down. She didn’t want to risk the coat rack; she’d lost many a good cloak that way at the Ruby Red.

Luna tugged Ginny’s hand, walking towards the crowd, but Ginny pulled her back in for one last kiss. Luna laughed, putting her arms around Ginny’s neck and kissing her back. “What’s that for?” she asked.

“Because I love you,” Ginny murmured, as Delilah announced Lucretia’s name to cheers and applause. “Very much.”

“I love you too,” Luna murmured, nipping Ginny’s bottom lip and pressing a last kiss to it. “Now come on.”

Ginny followed, squeezing Luna’s hand as they squeezed through the throng and made their way to an empty lounger closer to the front. They dropped into the seat and cheered along with the crowd as Lucretia made her way onto the stage.

“Ready to have your mind blown?” Luna asked, eyes sparkling.

“You bet,” Ginny said, taking a deep breath, free-falling into the change.

**Author's Note:**

> Whew, we're here! And it's at this point that I think the plot could have been well served with the 'one bed' trope, but I'm 81k too late LOL. Next time. 
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and sticking with this story. Sending you all the best of luck and love. <3 If you want to look for me elsewhere on the interwebs, you can catch me [here](https://inamamagic.tumblr.com/)


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